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THE 

CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

OF THE CITY OF 

HAMILTON, OHIO. 

September 17=19, 1891. 



EDITED BY 

Col DW. rvlcCLUNG. 



UNDER DIRECTION OF 
ISRAEL WILLLIAMS, REV. E. W. ABBEY, JOHN F. NEILAN, 

PUBLISHING COMMITTEE. 



1892 

HANIILTON, 
OHIO- 






Press of 

The Lawrence Printing and Publishing Co.. 

117, 119 and 121 W. Fifth Street, 

Cincinnati, Ohio. 



By Trsnsfir 

D. C. Public Library 

OCT 2 1 1938 










PREFACE. 



THIvS volume is issued in response to a very general desire of the resi- 
dents of Hamilton who witnessed, and many of whom participated 
in the exercises of the Centennial Celebration. 

Considerable delay has been experienced owing to failure on the part of 
some persons to prepare the papers they had engaged to write, and also on 
account of changes made necessary in the method of preparing the artistic 
work. 

In addition to the anniversary exercises in connection with the Centen- 
nial Settlement of Hamilton, the volume contains a full and complete de- 
scription of all the leading Manufactories, School Houses, Churches and Pub- 
lic Buildings, and also much interesting and valuable information concerning 
the early history of the Northwestern Territory and of the habits of the 
pioneers of the Great Miami VaWey. The Committee in charge of the pub- 
lication acknowledges itself indebted to the several gentlemen who delivered 
addresses on the occasion for copies thereof, kindly furnished the Committee, 
also to the persons who prepared papers on the topics assigned them ; and 
as well to the many other persons who have in various ways generously 
rendered important aid in the preparation of this volume. 

It is thought that the many illustrations will, in a measure, aid to make 
the volume attractive to our people. 

While literary excellence is not claimed for it, the hope is entertained 
that its perusal will serve to pleasantly while away an occasional hour ; and 
that it may be of some value to the future historian, for the facts collected 
and presented, and which, but for this publication might be lost to memory. 








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Errata===Explanatory. 



"T^HE firm with which the Committee contracted for the printing and bind- 
ing of this volume became financially embarrassed, and passed into the 
hands of an assignee after a considerable part of the work had been done. 
The assignee undertook to complete the book according to the contract, 
but was wholly unacquainted with the book-printing business. After he 
had mutilated and incorrectly printed the main portion of it, the Com- 
mittee took the whole matter from him and placed it in the hands of 
Brown & Whitaker, printers and binders, of Hamilton, for completion, four 
pages in front and the last sixteen pages and the binding being their work. 
To rectify the many errors would require complete reprinting and stereo- 
typing at an expense beyond our reach. 

This statement, the Committee trusts, will be accepted by the reader 
as a sufficient excuse for the many errors in the book, and for what- 
ever differences may be observable in its make-up. Greatly regretting that 
the volume must be sent out in its present form, the Committee never- 
theless hope that it will fulfill the object of its publication, as an inter- 
esting and valuable Souvenir of the city of Hamilton. 




COL. D. W. McCLUNG. 



Contents. 



Introduction — Historical — J. F. Neilan 13 

Centennial Committee Organization 23 

Township Auxiliary Committees 27 

Thursday, September 17th, program 27 

Friday, " 18th, " 29 

Saturday, " 19th, " 29 

Fire Works — program of display 39 

Opening Address — Thomas Millikin ... 77 
Hamilton 1791-1891 — Address, L. M. 

Larsh 85 

The Miami Valley 1791-1891 — Address, 

Sami'ei. F. Hunt 87 

The State of Ohio 1791-1891 — Address, 

James E. Campbeli 99 

The United States 1791- 1891 — Address, 

W. O. Thompson 103 

The World 1791-1891 — Address, Sam'l 

F. Cary Ill 

The Future — Address, E. W. Abbey.... 123 

Oration of the Day — Joseph Cox 135 

Hamilton — Its Municipality — Paper, L. 

M. Larsh 165 

Hamilton — Its Churches — Paper, Cyrus 

Falconer 171 

Hamilton — Its Schools 195 

Miami University 201 

Hamilton — Its Courts 207 

" — In Literature 217 

" - In the Wars — H. L. Morey 221 

" — Statesmanship 229 

" — Its Communications 233 

" — Business Other than Manu- 
factures — P. G- Berry... 235 
" — Its Manufactures — James 

VV. See 241 



Water Power. 



245 

Black & Clawson Co 246 

L. Deinzer & Son 248 

The Niles Tool Works Co 249 

P. Burns & Co 252 

Joseph Schumaker & Co 253 

National Car Seal Co 253 

J . H. Stephan & Son 254 

N. L. Dorris 254 

The Sortman & Blum Co 255 

The J. A. Sommers Manf. Co 256 

Berk Kingery & Co 256 

The Hamilton Corliss Engine Works. . . . 257 



F. & L. Kahn & Bros 259 

The Carr & Brown Co 261 

The Mosler Safe & Lock Co 262 

The Ritchie & Dyer Co 265 

The Hamilton Malting Co 265 

The Cincinnati Brewing Co 267 

H. P. Deuscher & Co 268 

John Donges & Co 269 

The Hamilton Buggy Co 269 

The Sohn & RentschlerCo 270 

The Bentel & Margedant Co 272 

The Beckett Paper Co 275 

The Columbia Carriage Co 276 

The H. P. Deuscher Co 277 

George F. Hutchinson «S; Co 278 

The Fisher Ice Tool Co 279 

D. M. Stevenson 279 

Shuler & Benninghofen 281 

The Hughes Manufacturing Co 283 

The Bess Machine Co 284 

The Long & Allstatter Co 287 

The Albert Fischer Manf. Co 289 

The Sohngen & Brown Co 289 

The Hamilton Foundry & Machine Co. . 291 

The Advance Manf. Co 291 

The Gordon Steam Pump Co 292 

The Macneale & Urban Safe & Lock Co. . 293 

The Phenix Caster Co 296 

The Hamilton Autographic Reg. Co 297 

The Louis Snider Sons Co. . . . 298 

The Sohngen Malting Co 299 



Schlosser & Co. 



99 



Gwinner, Dowrey & Co 300 

Anderson & Shaffer 300 

Semler & Co ^01 

The Hamilton Tile Works Co 302 

Krauth & Benninghofen 303 

Frank Schantz 104 

J. Jacob Bronnert 305 

Letter of Alfred J. Anderson, Esq 317 

" George L. Andrew, Esq 319 

" Judge Byron K. Elliott 315 

" John S. Hittell, Esq 320 

" Theodore H. Hittell, Esq 322 

" W. I). Howells, Esq 318 

" Mrs. Mary Ann Keck 314 

" Rev. J. (;. Monfort 317 

" Mrs. Laura B. Palmer. . 307 



PORTRAITS. 



Governor James E. Campbell 

Col. Lewis D. Campbell 

Gen'I Samuel F. Cary 20 & 

Judge Joseph Cox 

Dr. Cyrus Falconer 

Judge Samuel F. Hunt 

Hon. Clark Lane 

Hon. James McBride 



90 

26 

1 10 

134 



48 
24 



Col. D. W. McClung 6 

Hon. Mark C. McMaken 50 

Hon. John Wm Sohn 312 

General Arthur St. Clair 14 

Rev. W. O. Thompson D. D 102 

General F. VanDerveer 18. 

General Anthony Wayne 16. 

Hon. John Woods 22 



Contents. — Con . 



ILLUSTR^XIOxNS. 



Fort Hamilton, facing title page. 
Birds' Eye View of Hamilton . . . 

Circus parade 

Scene in Centennial Parade 



First County Building 

Old Torrence Tavern 

Scene on Reservoir 

Street Scene at Centennial Parade 

Reily Block 

V^iew from top of Court House 

Main Street looking east 

County Infirmary 

High Street looking west 

Lake and Reflection, Greenwood Cem't'y 
City View from Court House Tower. . . . 

Sectional View Fair Ground 

Campbell Avenue Park 

Dayton Street looking east 

Sutherland Park 

Suspension Bridge looking west 

Entrance Greenwood Cemeterv 

City Water and Gas Works Buildings. . . 

Ludlow Park 

Children's Home 

Scene Greenwood Cemetery 

Entrance to Fair Ground 

City View from Court House Top 

Lane Free Library 

Present Site of Old Fort Hamilton 

Ross .Street looking West 

G. A. R. Lot, Greenwood Cemetery.... 

St. Mary's Church and School 

St. Joseph's Church 

St. Stephen's Church 

Church of Christ 

Presbyterian Church 

■Old church Subscription List 



St. lohn's Church . 



I'AGE. 

II 

■ 73 

• 78 
. 80 
. 82 
. 88 
. 90 

• 92 

• 94 
. 96 

100 
. 104 
. 106 
108 
112 
114 
116 
118 
120 
124 
126 
128 
130 
132 
136 
13S 
140 
144 
148 
152 
164 
172 
176 
316 
177 
180 
183 
184 
185 
186 
192 



Avenue (ireenwood Cemetery 193 

first Ward School 194 

Second " 196 

Third " 19S 

Fourth " 200 

Miami Lhiiversity 202 

Western Female College 203 

Fifth Ward School 204 

Central High School 205 

New Court House 206 

Former Court House and officers 208 

Miami University Dormitory 210 

Lake and Ice House 213 

Daily News Building 214 

Daily Democrat Building 216 

Miami University, new building 219 

View in Greenwood Cemetery 220 

Miami University Library 228 

Oxford Female College 230 

C. H. & D. R. R. Station 234 

P. C. C. & St. L. R. R. Station 236 

Scene on the Miami and Erie Canal 238 

Black & Clawson Co.'s Shops .... 246 

The Niles Tool Works " 250 

The Sortman & Blum Co. Shops 255 

F. & L. Kahn & Bros. " 259 

The Carr & Brown Co.'s Mills 261 

The Mosler .Safe & Lock Co.'s Shops. . . . 262 

The Ritchie & Dyer Co.'s Shops 264 

The Cincinnati Brewing Co.'s Brewery. . 266 

H. P. Deuscher & Co.'s Malt House 268 

The Bentel & Margedant Co.'s Shops . . . 272 

The Beckett Paper Co.'s Mills 274 

The H. P. Deuscher Co.'s Shops 277 

Shuler & Benninghofen's Woolen Mills.. 280 
The Hughes Manufacturing Co.'s Shops 282 
The Long & Allstatter Co.'s " 286 

The Hamilton Foundry & Mach. Co.'s " 290 
The Macneale & Urban Safe & Lock 

Co.'s shops 294 

Semler & Co.'s Mills ^01 



CENTENNIAL CONIPvIITXEE. 



Rev. E. W. Abbey 122 

Robert Allstatter 40 

Dr. Samuel L. Beeler 32 

Capt. F. D. Bristlev 64 

W. B. Carr '. 28 

Henry P. Deuscher 52 

Robert M. Elliott 44 

William C. Frechtling 46 

Henry C. Gray 34 

Thomas V. Howell 68 

Lazard Kahn 66 

Charles I. Keely 54 

Dr. W. Z. Kumler 42 

L. M. Larsh 84 



Capt. Wm. C. Margedant 62 

Prof. F. C. Mayer " 60 

Robert C. McKinney 56 

Thomas Millikin . . .". 76 

John F. Neilan 12 

Christian Pabst 36 

Joseph J. Pater 58 

George T. Reiss 70 

Max Reutti 72 

George W . Stace 30 

Peter Schwab 38 

James W. See 240 

Rev. Francis F. Varelman 74 

Israel Williams 2^2 



PART I. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 



-AND- 



©escription of d^enterLnial (Celebration. 



HP[7VYIL-TON, OHIO. 




JOHN 1-. M:,1LAN. 



|^istorieal Ir^troduetiop. 




By John F. Neilan. 



'HE defeat of the Indians by General Wayne in 1794, may truth- 
fully be said to be one of the most important battles ever 
fought on American soil. Had he suffered such a defeat as 
did General St. Clair three years before, the consequences 
might, and doubtless would, have changed the map and the 
entire subsequent history of this country. All that magnifi- 
cent territory, now embraced in the states of Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois and Michigan would, probably be now a portion of the 
Dominion of Canada, and the United States would be confined 
to the Atlantic seaboard and south of the Ohio river. 

Such a result of that battle, following the crushing defeat of St. Clair, so 
short a time before, would have united all the Indian tribes from the Lakes 
to the Gulf, would have rendered their English advisers and aiders more open 
and arrogant in their encroachments upon American rights, and would, 
finally have resulted in placing the Indians and this whole territory under 
the protection of the English government. 

Such were the plans and the hopes of those persons in the pay of Great 
Britain, who were inciting the Indians to their deeds of savage warfare. 
Had these plans succeeded, there would have been no city of Hamilton, no 
Centennial Celebration and this introduction to the Souvenir Volume, which 
commemorates one of the most gorgeous, patriotic and successful civic and 
industrial displays ever presented to the American people, would not have 
been written. 

The events that lead to the building of Fort Hamilton by General St. 
Clair in September 1791, his subsequent defeat that year, and the great 
victory of General Wayne three years later, are of sufficient historic interest 
to bear repeating here. They can not be too often told, nor too firmly im- 
pressed upon the minds and hearts of we, their descendants. 

To understand them fully it is necessary to review the condition of the 
country prior to, and during the war of Independence. 

While France maintained her power in North America, the Indians were 
divided in their allegiance between that country and England, or the British 




GEN. ARTHUR ST, CLAIR, 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 1 5 

Colonies, which represented her in this country. 

The fall of Quebec forever extinguished French power and influence in 
Canada, and left the British authorities free to control and influence the In- 
dians. How well they succeeded is told in the awful burnings, scalpings and 
massacres of the Revolutionary war. It is a record that shocked the civilized 
world, made the horrors of war more barbarous and cruel than was ever be- 
fore known to the civilized nations, and drew from Lord Chatham that 
fierce and eloquent denunciation, in the British House of Lords, famed where- 
ever the English language is spoken. 

The treaty of peace in 1783 by which our independence was secured 
and acknowledged by Great Britain, and the nations of Continental Europe, 
left the country exhausted and impoverished by the long and unequal 
struggle. Good faith on the part of England demanded that her garrisons, 
occupying the various posts on American soil, should surrender them to our 
government. But with that duplicity and utter disregard for treaty rights 
and treaty stipulations which has frequently characterized European states- 
manship, she refused to give up many of those forts until years afterwards, 
and until General Wayne forever destroyed the Indian, and I may add, 
English power in the Northwest Territory, by his decisive victory. Prior to 
that time our government was too weak to enforce its rights as secured by 
that treaty, and compel the removal of these British garrisons from American 
territory. 

Among the most important of those garrisons, and the one from which 
all the British emissaries received their supplies and orders for the Indians, 
was Detroit, which was not surrendered to our government until 1795, 
twelve years after the treaty of peace which terminated the Revolutionary 
struggle. Many others of lesser importance stretched along the Great Lakes 
to Machinac Island the fort on which commanded the entrance to Lake 
Superior and all the vast regions adjoining it. 

From these garrisons went forth British traders and emissaries in the 
pay of the government, furnished with all kinds ot Indian supplies to tempt 
Indian cupidity and excite Indian cruelty and savagery upon American 
frontiersmen and their families, and resist the authority of our government, 
in direct violation of the treaty of peace between our country and theirs. 
These agents left nothing undone to excite the savages to murder and 
slaughter ; and even when the savages themselves seemed about to tire of 
their merciless deviltry, they were urged to continue by these, worse than 
Indian barbarians. 

Inflamatory speeches and lying statements were made to the Indians to 
excite them against the Americans, and they were particularly urged to in- 
sist upon the Ohio river as the south boundary line of what they called the 
"Indian country." They were urged to claim all that territory now embraced 
in the four great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, and to 




.I'.N. ANTH()N^• WANM-. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. l'^ 

place themselves and that country under the protection of the king of Eng- 
land, their Great Father, whom they were taught to look to as their friend 
and the only one who was capable of protecting them and doing them jus- 
tice. 

It may be remarked here that the loss of the American colonies was the 
greatest, the severest blow to British power it ever received, and one which 
it hoped to retrieve. The treaty which made the United States a free and 
independent nation was signed by king George III, with the greatest reluc- 
tance ; and English statesmen secretly cherished the hope that it would be 
but a short time until they could find an excuse to renew the conflict and 
finally triumph over the young Republic. This will explain to a great de- 
gree, the conduct of the British government and its representatives in this 
country. 

But the sweeping victory of Wayne in the presence of some of those 
same oflScers and English agents, many of whom it is said, participated in 
that battle, showed them that the young and vigorous Nation was not to be 
trifled with; and whatever hope they may have entertained of the unity and 
further resistance of the Indian tribes, was shattered to pieces by this victory. 

Our government was very reluctant to engage in this war, owing to its 
impoverished financial condition, resulting from the war of the Revolution, 
from which it had not yet recovered. It sought by every honorable means 
to avoid it, and the Secretary of War writes to Colonel Harmer to that effect 
in 1786. He says: "An Indian war, disagreeable at all times, would be 
peculiarly distressing in the present embarassed state of the public finances, 
and to avoid it if possible. 

In the same letter he writes : "The emissaries who are stimulated by 
British ofiicers or agents, will be industrious to urge the Indians to open 
hostilities ; it will be your duty to counteract them." 

Our government sought by every honorable means to avoid a war with 
the Indians. It called a council in the fall of 1785 to meet at the mouth of 
the Great Miami River, near where Lawrenceburg, Indiana now stands, and 
appointed commissioners to meet and treat with the Indians. The English 
agents called a council of Indians to meet at the same time near the present 
town of Bellefontaine, in Eogan County, Ohio, to prevent their attendance 
at the council appointed by our government ; and so powerful were the in- 
fluences of the British agents, backed by vast presents to the Indians, that 
but one tribe, the Shawanese, subscribed to the treaty, and through the same 
influence, this tribe went on the warpath against the Americans within six 
months after they had agreed to the treaty with the United States commis- 
sioners at the mouth of the Great Miami. 

In the fall of 1783, shortly after the treaty of peace with Great Britain 
was signed and with a full knowledge of that treaty, Sir John Johnson, 
British Superintendent, General of Indian affairs, assembled all the western 




GEN. F. VanDEVP:ER. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 19 

tribes in council at Sandusky; when he made a powerful appeal to them to 
stand up for their rights against the Americans ; urged them to take up the 
hatchet again rather than yield to the Americans. 

In June 1785 he called another general council of all Indians he could 
prevail upon to attend at Niagara, for the same purpose, and to prevent 
them attending the council at the mouth of the Great Miami which had been 
called by our government. The council held at Bellefontaine was after the 
Niagara council and was called, no doubt, with the full concurrence of Sir 
John Johnson. 

Through these influences, as before stated, but one tribe consented to the 
treaty of Fort Finney, as it is known in history ; while the Delawares, 
Wyandots, Mingoes, Cherokees, Pottowottamies, Kickapoos and fox nations 
were kept away. The most active agents in all these councils on the part 
of Britain were Captain Mc'Kee, deputy Indian commissioner; Major Elliott, 
an officer in the British army and the notorious renegade, Simon Girty. 
These men traveled from tribe to tribe, exciting the Indians to frenzy by 
their infamous lying statements, and securing the favorable attention of those 
poor creatures, by their lavish presents of war material and promises of aid 
and assistance. 

Such was the continuous state of affairs, almost without interruption, 
from 1783 until the defeat of St. Clair. It may well be imagined how that 
fearful disaster inflamed the Indians and encouraged their English allies. 
During all this time the pioneers of this vast and magnificent territory, were 
slowly but surely pressing westward, to be met at every advance by the 
savage Indians and their bloody tomahawk and scalping knife, encouraged to 
their deeds of murder, burnings and rapine by their no less inhuman abet- 
tors. Various raids were made by the Indians on the white settlements along 
the Ohio, both in Virginia and Kentucky. In 1791 a band of about three 
hundred Indians under the lead of Simon Girty passed down the Great 
Miami river and attacked Dunlap's Station which was erected on the east 
side of the river, a short distance south of the covered bridge, near the present 
village of Venice, in Butler County. Four men had been out exploring land 
on the west side of the river, in what is now Ross township, Butler County. 

They were attacked by the Indians ; one was captured, one killed, the 
other two escaped, one badly wounded. The attack on the Station was re- 
pulsed, after a siege of nearly two days and after re-enforcements arrived 
from Fort Washington. Poor Abner Hunt, the captured man, was tied to a 
sapling about which the Indians built a fire and roasted him to death, in full 
view and hearing of the garrison who were unable to render him any assist- 
ance. It was one of the most cruel of the many cruel acts of the savage In- 
dians, and, with other similar acts of the Indians finally aroused the govern- 
ment to the necessity of punishing these perpetrators of such savagery. 

The territory embraced within the present state of Ohio was regarded 




GEN. SAMUEL F. GARY, 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. H 

by the Indians as the most beautiful and bountiful land they possessed, par 
ticularly all that portion drained by the Great Miami river and its tributaries. 
At the site of the present city of Piqua was a large and populous Indian vil- 
lage, called Picklawinny ; while surrounding it in every direction, along the 
Sciota, the Maumee, the Muskingum and other streams, was a dense Indian 
population, extending to and along the Wabash, St. Joseph and other streams 
in the present state of Indiana. All this was the paradsie of the Indian 
hunter ; to the villages in this territory he returned from his hunting expidi- 
tions and forays on the white settlements. To these villages many a poor 
white prisoner was carried to be tortured at the stake for the gratification of 
his .savage captors. The Great Miami river was one of the most usually 
adopted highways for the Indian raids into Kentucky and the settlements 
along its banks. 

At this date, 1791, Ohio was a vast wilderness. There was a settlement 
at Marietta on the Ohio river ; one at Columbia, above Fort Washington 
which stood where Cincinnati now is built and which was the seat of the 
Federal army in the Northwest Territory ; Dunlap's Station on the Great 
Miami river, about seventeen miles above the Fort and Covalt's Station 
about twelve miles up the Little Miami river. 

After the attack upon Dunlap's Station, the government determined to 
punish the Indians for this and other savage raids upon the border settle- 
ments. General Arthur St. Clair was directed to command the expedition, 
and the army was ordered to concentrate at Fort Washington. 

The spring and summer were occupied in preparation, which was at- 
tended with all the delays incident to the natural obstacles of the country, 
through which the army was to operate, and, to the financial embarassment 
of the government ; so that it was not until September that the command 
was ready to take up its line of march toward the Indian villages about the 
headwaters of the Great Miami river. About the i6th of that month the 
army reached the site of the present city of Hamilton. 

There it was determined to erect a fort to be used as a base of operations 
nearer the scene of the expected conflict. The fort was laid out and building 
began upon it on the 17th, and it was finished on or about the last day of 
September, or the first day of October. 

It was named Fort Hamilton, after Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary 
of the Treasury of the United States. 

Such was the beginning, and such were the events that lead to the 
founding of the city of Hamilton, on the banks of the Great Miami. 

From that beginning it has grown until now it is a city of over 20,000 
people, as enlightened prosperous and intellectual as can be found on the 
globe. It contains as many of the elements of progress and enlightened 
civilization, with all that tends to embellish and refine human existence as 
any city in the United States. It has splendid public buildings, first-class 




HON. JOHN WOODS. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 2^ 

educational facilities and public improvements ; varied and extensive manu- 
factures second to none anywhere ; splendid churches of various denomina- 
tions, the members of each of which concede to all others what they ask for 
themselves, namely ; freedom to worship God according to the dictates ot 
their own conscience. This people are not unmindful of the struggle of 
their forefathers to establish the free government under which we live and 
the freedom we enjoy. To honor their memory, to educate our children to 
do likewise and to renew the patriotism and love of country which is the 
sacred duty of all good citizens, it was determined to celebrate the centennial 
anniversary of the founding of the city of Hamilton, in a manner worthy of 
its founders, of the pioneers who reclaimed this country from the wilderness 
and the savage, and worthy of the great Republic of the West, an important 
part of which is the Great Miami valley which was the scene of the principal 
events that lead to the founding of our beautiful city. 

HISTORY OF THE PREPARATIONS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CELEBRATION, 

The first public meeting, looking to the celebration of the one hundredth 
anniversary of the settlement of the city of Hamilton was held by the officers 
and members of The Hamilton Battallion ; an organization composed of the 
uniformed societies and military companies of the Ohio National Guard of 
the city. It was resolved to call a meeting of the citizens for the evening of 
July ID, 1891. 

At that public meeting Thomas Millikin Esq. was elected chairman and 
Lieutenant F. D. Bristley was elected secretary. After several patriotic 
speeches had been made by citizens, it was resolved that the chairman select 
five prominent citizens, and they, with the chairman select a committee of 
twenty-five, to be known and called Centennial Committee and to have the 
absolute charge and management of the entire celebration. Mr. Millikin 
selected as the committee of five. Captain W. C. Margedant, Joseph J. Pater, 
Isreal Williams, John F. Neilan and George T. Reiss, and together they 
selected the following named persons to constitute the Centennial Com- 
mittee. 

CENTENNIAL COM IVl ITTEE. 

First Ward— W. C. Margedant, S. I.. Beeler, Rev. E. W. Abbey, F. D. Bristley, H. C. >^ 

Gray. 
Second W.^rd— Thomas Millikin, Christian Pabst, Rev. Francis F. Varelmau, Peter 

Schwab, Lazard Kahn. 
Third Ward— Israel Williams, Thomas V. Howell, Robert Allstatter, Charles I. Keely, 

William C. Frechtliug. 
Fourth Ward— John F. Neilan, L. M. Larsh, W. Z. Kuniler, Jos. J. Pater, Fred C. Mayer. 
Fifth Ward— George T. Reiss, R. C. McKinney, Max Reutti, W. B. Carr. 

Afterwards the following members as a Finance Committee, were added 
to and constituted part of the general committee to-wit : Charles E. McBeth, 
Robert M. Elliott, Henry P. Deuscher, ly. M. Earsh, George W. Stace and 
William Herrman. 




HON JAMKS McBRIDE; 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 25 

Other committees were appointed at different times as follows : 

HISTORICAL AND LITERARY COMMITTEE. 
Thomas Millikin. Dr. Cyrus Falconer. Rev. E. W. Abbey. James W. See. 

Isreal Williams, Chairman. 

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION 

Thomas V. Howell, Chairman. William Beckett. Peter Schwab. 

COMMITTEE ON INVITATION 
L. M. Larsh, Chairman. John F. Neilan. Geo. T. Reiss. 

COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 
John F. Neilan, Chairman. Isreal Williams. F D. Bristley. 

COMMITTEE ON MUSIC 

Prof. Fred C. Mayer, Prof. John L. Gottschalk Prof. William Huber, 

Henry Herrmann, Joseph J. Pater, Robert Allstatter. 

LADIES COMMITTEE. 

First Ward— Mrs. J. C. Hooven, Mrs Jos. A. Fromm, Mrs. Charles Sohngen, Miss 

Mary Rossman, Mrs. Nelson Williams, Mrs. Alston Ellis, Miss Lutie Sohngen, Mrs. 

Martin Mason, Miss Lutie Matthias, Mrs. Mary Murphy, Mrs. H. C. Gray. Mrs. 

Charles W. Gath, Miss Annie Laubach. Mrs. S. Blair, Mrs. William Seward. 
Second Ward — Mrs. Jas. E. Neal, Miss Kate Schwab, Miss Mary Millikin, Miss Ada 

Fye, Miss Lillian Lorenz, Miss Adda Markt, Miss Josephine Crawford, Miss Anna 

McBeth, Mrs. D. E. Sheehan, Mrs. Thomas M. Boyd. 
Third Ward — Miss Nannie Kennedy, Mrs. John M. Marr, Miss Rachel Fitton, Mrs. 

Charles Howald, Mrs. A. T. Good. Mrs. Albert Kennedy, Mrs. C. Falconer, Mrs. 

Adolph Metzner, Miss Minnie Schwartz, Mrs. J. W. Overpeck. 
Fourth Ward— Mrs. Josephine Weiler, Mrs. Sam.H. Millikin, Miss Carrie Brock, Mrs. 

R.N.Andrews, Miss Pauline StefFe, Mrs. L. M. Grifl5s,Mrs. G. W. Stace, Miss Libbie 

Deuscher, Miss Aggie Burns, Miss Elizabeth Conner. 
Fifth Ward— Mrs. Z. B. Coes, Mrs. Julius Bunson, Mrs. John Bender, Miss Ida Curtis 

Mrs. L. A. Powell, Mrs. John S. Spoeri, Miss Jennie L. Wasson, Mrs. Jos. H. Webster, 

Mrs. Max Ruetti, Mrs. Chris Benninghofen. 
ASSISTANT COMMITTEES TO LADIE'S COMMITTEES IN EACH WARD. 
First Ward— John A. Keller, Dr. H. E. Twitchell, Abe Rothwell, Benj. W. Baker, Dr. 

J. J. Roll, Thomas Moore, Jr., J. P. Smyers, A. W. Margedant, E. E. Hull, C. W. Gath, 

H. C. Blum, F. D. Dick, F. D. Blackburn, Wm. Longfellow, Jack Henninger, William 

Hunter, James Tully, A. J. Welliver, Thomas Temple, John L. Beeler. 
Second Ward — ChristPabst, Dr. John Francis, L.Zecher, F. A. Rife, Charles Holbrock. 

Homer Gard, R. S. Carr, J. B. Baker, Wm. Lodder, W. W. Crawford, Dr. Minor M. 

Jacobs, C. E. McBeth, John N. Bandtel, Mark Millikin, Frank Overmyer, John 

Schweitzer, Maurice Kilsheimer; Virgil E. Gilcrest, Rev. C W. Gullette, Samuel P. 

Stewart. 
Third Ward— Dr. Geo. C. Skinner, Wm. L. Huber, Dr. Frank M. Fitton, Edgar A. Bel- 
den, A. Metzner, D. W. Fitton, Prof. Albert Mayer, Joe Long, Walter Osborne, Dr. C. 

I. Keeley, W. R. Small, Charles S. Millikin, Jesse C. Smith, George Beckman, Charles 

Howald, David Pierce, J. W. Conboy, Otto Metzner, F. P. Stewart, Lee Rose, George 

E. Seidel. 
Fourth Ward— W. E. Kumler,C.J. Smith, P. E. Welsh, F. X. Duerr, Harry J. Wallace, 

S. H. Millikin, M. O. Burns, Rev. David Feuerlicht, Gustave StefFe, Albert Wagner, 

H. L. Gifford, E. H. Haines, Gus Kummerling, Chas. D. Mathes, E. G. Ruder, P. B. 

Walker, L. C. Overpeck. 




COL. LEWIS D. CAMPBELL. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 27 

Fifth Ward — Max Reutti, Wm. G. Holbrock, Tliomas Blair, Fred Doeller. Fred J. Hil- 
ker, John Helvey, Robt. C. Hargitt, Dauiel M.McClutig, E. R. Mathes.Geo.T. Reiss, 
Dr. Clarence Wasson, L/Ouis A. Dillon, S. W. Powell, Theadore Buck, Governeur 
Morey, Wui. Bender, Jr., John Day, Aaron Wesco. 

Assistants to W. C. Margedant, Committe on Fire Works — John F. Gardner 
George T. Reiss, John Helvey. 

TOWNSHIP AUXILIARY COMMITTEES. 

MiDDLETOWN .\ND LEMON TOWNSHIPS — Paul J Sorg, Samuel K. Hughes, W. H. Tod- 
hunter, Martin McLaughlin, James K. Thomas, George Sebald. 

Liberty Township — Philip Hughes, B. F. Kyle, Rev. E. McHugh. 

Wayne Township — Robert Withrow, Wilson Smith, J. B. Owsley. 

Oxford and Oxford Township — Dr. H. D. Hinckley, Daniel P. Beaton, S. C. Richey, 
Gus Schlenck, Thomas Law. 

MiLFORD Township — W. T.Hancock, John F. Mee, J. H. Schollenberger. 

Madison Township — Jacob Banker, John Pritchard, John V. Good. 

Union Township — ^Joseph Allen, A.J. Van Hise, E. Taylor Elliott. 

Hanover Township— Jas. W. Nichol, W. B. Davis, A. C. Kumler. 

Riley Township — Dr. D. D. Rorger, Charles Urmston, James Duncan. 

Morgan Township — R.J. Bell, Aaron L. Morris, 'i homas Shroyer. 

Ross Township — Luke Bradley, Lewis J. Demaret, Andrew J Lewis. 

St. Clair Township — Amos D. Kumler, James Riley, Samuel Baird. 

Permanent oflScers of the Centennial Committee were elected as follows : 

Hon. Thomas Millikin, President; T. V. Howell, Vice President; F. D. Bristley, 
Secretary ; S. L. Beeler, Treasurer; Rev. Francis V. Varelman, Chaplain. 

Captain W. C. Margedant was unanimously elected Commander-in-Chief 
of the parade with power to select his own staflf and appoint the commanders 
of divisions, who were authorized to appoint their own aids. John F. Neilan 
was appointed to write all the advertising matter for the occasion and news- 
paper articles. 

The Centennial Celebration was held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 
September 17, 1 8 and 19, according to the following official programme : 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17. 

The celebration was Commenced at sunrise this day, by the firing of 
thirteen guns, in commemoration of the number of states in the union at the 
time of the location of Fort Hamilton, by General Arthur St. Clair. 

During the day the citizens and public authorities put in place so far as 
was practicable, the decorations and ornamentations they desired to have and 
use in the celebration. 

In the evening at 7:30 o'clock there was a grand dress parade on High 
Street by "The Hamilton Battalion," comprising all the Uniformed, Military 
and Civic Organizations of the city. After which the beautiful spectacle en- 
titled "The Feast of Fbvjers and Youth," was participated in by the Youth and 
School Children of Hamilton, in marches, music and songs. 




WILLIAM liAKTON CAKK. 



THE CENTENNIAL, ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



29 



Waltz — "Thunnger Keisler. 

Polka — "Return" jt-nnings. 

Overture — "Bridal Rose Lavelle 

National Air 



FRIDAY SEPTEMBER IS. 

At sunrise 44 guns were fired in commemoration of the number of States 
now in the Union. The city and citizens completed their decorations and 
preparations for the ensuing day. 

In the evening at 6:30 o'clock a grand band concert was held at the 
Court House, under supervision of Prof. F. C. Mayer, George Schweinfest 
director. 

The following program was rendered : 

1. March— "The Gladiator" Sousa I 5. 

2. Waltz— "Virginia" Kathbun | 6. 

3. Potpourri — "Imperial" Pettee 7. 

4. March — "Medora" Thornar | 8. 

Immediately after the concert a Public Meeting of Citizens was organized 
with Hon. Thomas Millikin, chairman. Addresses were then made upon the 
following topics by the following distinguished gentlemen selected for that 

purpose. 

lygt. — Hamilton,— 1891. Hon. L,. M. Larsh; Mayor of Hamilton. 

lygi.—XHE Miami Valley, -1891. Judge Samuel F. Hunt. Gl^ndale, Ohio. 

I79r. — The State of Ohio,— 1S91. Governor James E. Campbell, Hamilton, Ohio. 

lygi^ — The United States,— 1891. Rev. W. O. Thompson, D. D., President of Miami 

University, Oxford, Ohio. 
1791, — The World.— 1891. General Samuel F. Gary, College Hill, Ohio. 
The Future — Prophetic, Rev. E. W. Abbey, Hamilton, Ohio. 

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19. 

The officers of the meeting this day were : 
HON. THOMAS MILLIKIN, President. 



F. D. BRISTLEY. Secretary. 



REV. FRANCIS F. YARELMAN, Chaplain. 

no HONORARY VICE PRESIDENTS. 

The following named citizens of Butler County, all of whom are upwards" 
of 80 years of a^e, were selected for the occa.siou and mo>.t of whom were 
present. The following is an alphabetical list of their names, their postoffice 
address and their respective ages. 



William Andrew, Hamilton 82 years 

James Campbell Andrews, Ross ..82 

Daniel Beeler, Hamilton 8r 

William Booth, Oxford 82 

William Braffieid, Oxford 80 

William Brown, Ross 82 

Clark Baker, Mauds 83 

Michael Balderman, Darrtown... 86 

Jacob Bake, Heno 87 

Judge \V. R. Cochran, Haniilton..So 

Joseph Clawson, Okeana 88 

Joseph Cann, Oi<eana 87 

Richard « onaroe. Seven Mile 82 

William Cone, l^oss 81 

John Clafton.Middlelovvn 80 

John N. Carey, West Chesier 82 

Joshua Davis. Hamilton 83 

James Davis, Reiley 82 



Harvey Denman, Stockton 82 years 

Joseph Demoret, Ro-s 82 " 

Bartliolniew Demoret, Ro.'-s 80 " 

David E. Davies, Paddy's Run 80 " 

Peter Enler, Hamilton 90 " 

Michael I<\ Eisel, Hamilton 83 " 

David Enyarl, Middletovvn 80 " 

I^r. Cyrus i-al-oner, Hamilton 8t " 

Epperson l-"nlkerson, Hamilton. .81 " 

Joseph W. Frazee, Reiley 82 " 

Andrew P^lenner. Sev.-n Mile 82 " 

George Fulk, Midd etown 84 " 

Alexander Guy, O.vford 90 " 

William Gray, iMands 87 " 

James Giffen, Hamiiion 81 " 

Thomas G irone, 0.\ford 80 '' 

Danitl (iawUer, Poastiovvn 87 " 

Daniel Hawk, Ross 80 " 



> 




GKOKl.K VV STACK 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



3F 



M. Goebel, Trenton 86 years 

Isaac Hiigerman, Hauiiltcn; 90 " 

AbelHoel. Hamilton 82 " 

Robert Harper, Hamilton 83 " 

Sebaslain Herold, Hamilton 82 " 

Sliadrack Harrison. Hamilton 86 " 

Enoch Haskell, Oxford 80 " 

John Hendrix, Oxford 85 " 

James Harper, Clawson 81 " 

f:ilison Harkrader, Blue Ball 80 " 

John Isaminger, Okeana 83 " 

James W. Jones, Okeana- 81 " 

John P, Jones, Paddy's Hnn 81 " 

Wi'liam N. Johnson, Oxford 82 " 

Thomas Jefferson, Oxford 80 " 

Dr. Edward Kinibidl, Monroe 81 " 

PeterKung, Hamilton 82 " 

Jacob Knmler, ^lillville, 80 " 

Michael Knmler, Milhille 80 " 

Charles R. Kennedy, Hamilton. ..81 " 

Joseph Rern, Heno 80 " 

Charles C. Legg, Bethany go " 

William Linn, Monroe 81 " 

Andrew Lewis, Millville 87 " 

Alexander Lutes, Okeana 80 " 

Hon. Mark C. McMaken, Ham'n..9i " 

James Murphy, Oxford 81 '" 

John Miller, Oxford 80 " 

David M. IMagie, Oxford 80 " 

Samuel R. Mollyneaux, Oxford. ..81 " 

Thomas Manning, Oxford 84 " 

John VanDerveer, Hamilton 86 " 

John Voorhees, Bethany 82 " 

Richard Veriker, Oxford 80 " 

Daniel Wollenweber, Hamilton. ..91 " 

John Wick, Hamilton, 83 " 

Jeremiah Warwick, Hamilton 80 " 



E. Moorehouse Padd'ys Run 80 yea as 

Wilson Martindale. Ross 84 " 

James McCloskey, Millville 80 " 

David l^lesler, Heno 83 " 

Washington Miller, McGonigle...8i " 

James A. Neil, Hamilton 81 " 

Capt. D. P. Nelson, McGonigle....8i " 

Robert Orr, Collinsville 82 " 

William Prewitt, Bethany 83 " 

Thomas Pope, Trenton 86 " 

James Rossman, Hamilton 89 ''' 

Thomas RoVierts, Oxford 80 " 

Russell Reston, Middletown 85 " 

Peter W. Shephead, Hamilton... .87 '' 

Daniel Shellhouse, Hamilton 87 '' 

Thomas B. Sterrett, Hamilton 82 " 

Charles 8orber, Hamilton 85 " 

Dr. Alanson Smith, Hamilton ....85 " 

John Sloneker, Collinsville 82 " 

William J. Stephenson, Oxford. ..80 " 

l^andy Stewart, Oxford 80 " 

Ludwig Schaffer, Trenton 80 " 

John Sinkey, Heno 81 " 

Lansdale Simpson, Bethany 84 " 

John Tuly, Hamilton 85 " 

James Taylor, Hamilton 81 " 

Samuel Taylor, Hamilton 80 "' 

Shetn Thomas, Poasttown 83 " 

Isaac Teetor, Okeana 84 " 

David Urmston. Hamilton 80 " 

George Vinnedge, Hamilton 82 " 

Reuben Woodruff, Paddy's Run..87 •' 

John Wright, Oxford 80 " 

James Watson, Middletown 87 " 

William Webster, Middletown. ..80 " 

John Wolf, Monroe 82 " 

Peter Young, Hamilton 82 " 



The exercises this day were varied and magnificent in character. Com- 
mencing at sunrise by the firing of 100 guns by Capt. Kleins gun squad, in 
commemoration of the illustrious progress made by this community during 
the past century, 

ORDER OF EXERCISES. 

I St. Prayer by the Chaplain. 

2d. Grand vocal and orchestral concert, under the direction of Prof. F. 
C. Mayer, rendered the following programme of selected music: 

Miss Emma Reulti Pianist I Mr. Chas. Schweinfest Concert Meister 

Miss Matilda Brinker^ ' Mr. Henry Brinker Bas9 

Miss Fannie Smith > Soprano I Mr. Albert Wagner Tenor 

JVJrs. Rose Mayer J | Mr. Robert Fisher Tenor 

Mr. Herman Bellstedt, Jr Cornet Soloist. 

Full Chorus of 500 voices and Grand Orchestra of 100 pieces. 



MUSICAL PROGRAM. 

1. March — "Cornation" Mayer beer 

2. H3'mn of Praise, - . . . 

I. Symphonic. 



Orchestra. 

Mendelssohn.'. 




DR. SAMUEL L. BEELER. 



THE CENTENNIAI. ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



35 



3- 

4. 

5- 
6 



3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 



2. Chorus, "All men, all things." 
2^2 Soprano solo and chorus, "Praise thou the Lord." 
Recitation and solo, "Sing ye Praise." 
Chorus, "All ye that Cried unto the Lord." 
Duet and chorus, "I Waited for Thee Lord." 
Tenor Solo "The Sorrows of Death," 
Chorus, "The Night is Departing." 
Choral "Let all Men Praise the Lord" 
Duet, "My Tears Shall Always be Thy Mercy." 
Chorus, "Ye Nations Offer to the Lord." 
Mrs. Rose Mayer, Soprano. Miss Matilda Brinker, Soprano. Mr. 
Albert Wagner, Tenor. Full Chorus and grand orchestra. 
Cornet Solo, "Centennial Polka," Mr. Herman Bellstedt - Bellstedt 
Chorus "Halleluiah" Full Chorus and Grand Orchestra - Beethoven 
Overture, "Raymond" Grand Orchestra, - - - - Thomas 

Chorus— "The Heavens are Telling" . . - . Haydn 

Trio, Miss Fannie Smith, Mr. Robert Fisher, Mr. Henry Brinker. 
Full Chorus and Grand Orchestra. 
National Hymn, "America," All the People, Bands and Orchestra. 
Everybody requested to sing this National Anthem. 



My country 'tis of thee, 
Sweet laud of liberty 

Of thee I sing; 
Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the pilgrims pride, 
From every mountain side, 

Let freedom ring. 
— 2 — 
My native country thee, 
Laud of the noble, free, 

Thy name I love ; 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills, 
My heart with rapture fills, 

Like that above. 



— 3— 
Let music swell the breeze. 
And ring from all the trees, 

Sweet freedoms song ; 
Let mortal tongues awake, 
Let all that breathe partake. 
Let rocks their silence break, 

The sound prolong. 

—4— I 

Our Father's God to thee 
Author of liberty, 

To thee we sing; / 

Long may our laud be bright, J 
With freedom's holy light, Y 
Protect us by thy might, 1 

Great God our King. i 

itbr 



of the 



3rd. Brief address by the President in presenting! the oratt 
day to the audience. 

4th. Elaborate oration of Judge Joseph Cox, of Cincinnati, on the 
Pioneer history of Hamilton and the Northwest Territory. Short ad- 
dresses were next made by the following gentlemen : Hon, Calvin S, Brice, 
U. S. Senator of Ohio ; Hon. Wm. McKinley, candidate for Governor 

of Ohio. 

5th. Other short addresses were made by eminent gentlemen present at 

the time. 




HHNRY C. GRAY. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 35 

6th. Promptly at 2 o'clock P. M. the grand parade moved on Main 
Street iu the First Ward, under direction of the Grand Marshal. 
The Grand Marshal and his staff consisted as follows ; 

Grand Marshal, Capt. W. C. Margedant ; Chief of Staff, Thomas Millikin ; Adjutant 
General, F. D. Bristley ; Majors, J. F. Neilan, H. L. Morey, L,. M. Larsh ; Assistant 
Grand Marshals, Rev. F. W. Abbey, S. L. Beeler, H. C Gray.'Peter Schwab, Rev. F. F. 
Varelman, Lazard Kahn, Robert Allsta'tter, Christ Pabst, Jos. H. Long, Thomas V. 
Howell, Joseph J. Pater, Fred C. Mayer, Dr. W. Z. Kumler, Prof. Alston Ellis, Geo. W. 
Stace, H. P. Deuscher, Christ Benninghofen, Dr. Dan Millikin, Homer Gard, Chas. E. 
McBeth, W. C. Frechtliug, W. L. Huber, Albert Dix, J. M. Long, Isaac Rogers, J. M. 
Downey: Aide-de-Camp Allen Andrews, Dr. C. L Keeley. 

The parade consisted of four grand divisions preceded : 

I St. By four Heralds with trumpets. 

2d. By the Police of the City. 

3rd By the Grand Marshal and Staff. 

4th. By the Governor of the State and his Staff. 

First Division — Military. 
Col. George H. Phillips, Grand Division Commander; Gen. Ferd Van- 
Deveer, Chief of Staff; Dent. Walter Shearer, Assistant Adjutant General; 
^1. Ja^^^Neal, Col. Thomas Moore, Dr. T. B. Talbott, Majors ; W. H. 
Allen^ Maj". G. W. Rue, W. W. Lane, Willard Smyers, F. W. Whitaker, Geo. 
T. Earhart, David L,. Howell, Geoage Rupp, Charles O. Richter, Thomas M. 
Boyd, H. K. VanDeveer, W. M. Dingfelder, Andrew Fallert, Thomas Gold- 
rick, John F. Heath, Culla J. Smith, Joseph H. Myers, D, H. Hensley, Free- 
man Compton, P. B. Walker, C. W. Gath, J. I,. Havens, Assistant Division 
Marshals ; Capt, E. C. Sneider, Capt. N. B. Tubbs, Capt. George Hafertepen, 
Aids-de-camp. 

This division consisted of the Military and Uniformed Bodies. 
I St. Grand Division Commander and Staff. 
U. S. Troops preceded by U. S. Band. 
Ohio National Guards and Cadets. 

G. A. R. and soldiers of the late war and war with Mexico. 
Uniformed Civic Organizations. 

Second Division — Historical. 

Capt. Adolph Metzner, Grand Division Commander ; Dr. Geo. C. 
Skinner, Chief of Staff; Max Reutti, Assistant Adjutant General, Gustave 
StefFee, F. W. Soehner, Albert Hossfeld, G. A. Lambert, W. W. Lane, Wm. 
K. Bender, John Robertson, John C. Rochelle, Chas. F. Diefenbach, James 
Tully, Philip Conboy, I. N. Slay back, W. N. Gray, W. B. Brown, Chas. Sohn- 
gen, John Doellman, Henry Sohn, C. D. Mathes, Assistant Division Marshal ^ 
A. Schultz, Wm. Ritchie, Sam. D. Fitton, Aids de camp. 

This division consisted of tableau wagons and floats, representing per- 
sons and objects of historical prominence, etc., etc., in the following order : 




CHRISTIAN PABST. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 37 

1st. Baud. 

2d. Grand Division Commander and Staflf. 

3rd. First Grand Pageant, a. — Continental soldiers with allegorical, 
representation of Yankee Doodle, b. — Fort Hamilton, tableau flanked by 
Indians, c. — Old Pioneers, d. — Indians on horseback, e. — Drum corps 
and fifes followed by the old citizens' home guard. 

Second Grand Pageant, a. — An evening at the cabin of our fore- 
fathers, and the pioneer's family after the day's work. b. — Spinning bee. 
c. — Corn husking. 

Third Grand Pageant, a — The old stage coach mail service. 

Fourth Grand Pageant, a. — Canal boat of former times, b. — The 
traveling Judge and lawyers, c. — The visiting preacher, d. — The Indian 
root doctor and country physician, e. — The country news and printing 
oflice. f. — Mail coach and mail carrier on horseback. 

Fifth Grand Pageant, a. — Family of emigrants with wagons, oxen, 
hunters and trapperr. 

Sixth Grand Pageant, a. — General St. Clair and stafi" on horseback. 

Seventh Grand Pageant, a — The first court house and postoffice in 
Hamilton. 

Eighth Grand Pageant, a. — Allegorical representation of civilization* 
law, agriculture, industry, commerce, education, literature, music, art and 
peace. 

Third Division— Industrial. 

Col. R. C. McKinney, Grand Division Commander, Col. J. H. Springer. 
Chief of Staff; John D. Krocker, Adjutant General; George Helvey, W. B. 
Carr, Frank X. Black, Majors; William Long, Thomas Dowling, J. L. Blair, 
Martin Mason, William Schwab, D. W. Fitton, George A. Miller, George E. 
Seidel, George Stroh, Peter Benninghofen, Conrad Semler, John Conboy, 
John F. Spoerl, Jos. N. Mass, Virgil E. Gilcrest, Charles Winter, George 
Holbrock, Peter B. Holly, Charles E. Doty, Robert Fischer, Charles Holt 
brock, P. G. Berry, Joseph Marr, Assistant Division Marshals; August 
Margedant, Otto Metzner, Aids-de-camp. 

This division consisted of tableau wagons and floats, carrying represen- 
tations of the various kinds of manufacturies and other industries of Hamil- 
ton. The order of match was : 

ist. Band. 

2nd. Grand division, commander and stafl. 

3rd. Tableau wagons and representations. 

Fourth Division — Agricultural and Civic. 
Christ Rothenbush, Grand Division Commander ; S. T. Harwood, Chief 
of Staff; Robert M. Elliott, Assistant Adjutant General ; F. M. Hughes, Jas. 
Reed, PhiHp J. Faber; Majors ; Levi J. Truster, D. L- Tyler, James W. Lewis- 
James Linn, Nathan C. Flenner, R. M. Billingslea, Robert Long, James M. 




PETER SCHWAB. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 39 

Carr, A. Morris, Joseph Billingslea, J. W. Sloneker, J. R. Emrick, William 
Heerman, P. J. Sommers, Thomas J. Hughes, Wm. Allen, Isaac L,. Riley, 
Charles Fallert, W. H. Jacobs, A. J. Welliver F. E- Humbach, William 
Schlosser, Dr. J.J. Roll, John Bender, Jacob Seybold, assistant Division Mar- 
shals; W. H. Todhunter, Frank Morris, Aids-de-camp. 

This division comprised (include the city and county officers and different 
civic organizations) township delegations and all bodies and societies not in- 
cluded in the other divisions and including all citizens who joined in the 
parade as individuals. 

ist. Band. 

2nd. The grand division commander and staff. 

3rd. The clergy and distinguished guests in carriages. 

4th. The city and county officers and municipal boards. 

5th. Civic organizations and township delegations. 

6th. Citizens. 

LINE OF MARCH. 

Commencing at the head of Main street, thence east to suspension bridge, 
across suspension bridge to High, east on High to Third, south on Third to 
Central avenue, southeast on Central avenue to Walnut, east on Walnut to 
Fourth, north on Fourth to East lyudlow, east on East Ludlow to Tenth, 
north on Tenth to Heaton, west on Heaton to Second, south on Second to 
Dayton, east on Dayton to Seventh, south on Seventh to High, west on High 
to Court House where the whole procession passed in review before the 
Grand Marshal and his staff and Governor Campbell and his staff. 

This evening the public and private buildings of the city were gener- 
ally illuminated in a highly interesting manner; and the exercises of the 
Centennial concluded with an elaborate display of Fire Works according to 
the following programme ; the most varied and magnificent ever witnessed 
in this country. 

Program of the Fire Work Display. 

I St. The commencement of the pyrotechnical exhibition was heralded 
by the ascension of a number of aerial report shells and 4-pound display 
rockets. 

2nd. Ascension of three large balloons, representing animals in outline 
and coloring. Ascension of three fireworks balloons carrying fireworks up 
into the air, which burned in a high altitude. 

3rd. Firing of thirteen Union Report Shells from motors. 

4th. Display of colored lights, and prismatic illumination of the grounds. 

5th. Ascension of a number of rockets from one to four pounds. 

6th. Grand display of batteries of golden stars and streamer candles. 

7th. Firing of six "A. L- Due 18 inch celebrated Mammoth Shells" 
with brilliant illuminated colored lights. 







kl il.l'.K 1 Al,l.> 1 ,\ I 1 I'.K 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 4! 

8th. Exhibition Design — " Welcome'^ — In honor of our guests. This 
appeared in letters of 24-inches high in double colored lights encircled by 
yarbs of brilliant fire, covering a space of 24 by 28 feet. 

9th. Ascension of a number of A. L. Due special exhibition rockets of 
8-pound and 12 colored tourbillions. 

10th. Flight of six 18-inch shells and two mines of sancissions fired 
from 18-inch motors. 

nth. Exhibition Piece — Oriental Tree. This well known and cele- 
brated piece consists of a vertical support, with stars on top and bottom and 
a large wheel shown in rotation in the center, and smaller wheels also rotat- 
ing on the bottom, arranged with cascades fired trom between the points of 
the star on the top of the piece and from four sides of the wheel ; covering 
a space of 22 by 35 feet when burning. 

i2th. Ascension of exhibition rockets and a number of 24-inch bomb- 
shels and mines of sancissions. 

13th. — Exhibition Piece. — Moimt Vesiivius. — Representing an eruption 
of Vesuvius. 

14th. Ascension of a number of colored display rockets and mines of 
sancissions, mammoth bouquet shells and tourbillions. 

15th. Exhibition Piece — The American Star — shown in brilliant lance 
work, 5'arbs and cascades. 

i6ih. Ascension of golden willow, parachute and bullion of colored 
star rockets and large sized bouquet shells. 

17th. Exhibition Piece — Horizontal Caleidascope— consisting of color. 
ed cascades, yarbs and large mines of colored stars, revolving and changing 
constantly in coloring and design. (By special request.) 

i8th. Ascensions of rockets, shells, mines of sancissions and tourbil- 
lions. 

19th. Exhibition pieae — The Beauty of Night — consisting of a center 
star with radiating streamers of light, two rotating wheels, one on each side, 
and cascades fired from four smaller stars, covering a space 15x20 feet. 

20th. Ascension of exhibition rockets and exhibition batteries, illumi- 
nating the space with 720 colored balls. 

2ist. Firing of 4-pound rockets, large bouquet bombshels, and mines of 
sancirsions. 

22nd. Exhibition piece — The Emble^n of Egypt. 

23d. Flight of tourbillions and magnesium shells, colored stars and 
mines of sancissions. 

24th. Exhibition piece. — Forest in Aiitiimn. This very brilliant piece 
is especidly beautiful on account of the large number of large and small re- 
volving wheels placed in symmetrical order, interwoven by large exhibition 
CHudles, which, in firing produce graceful curving lines and imitating in color 
the variegated brilliancy of our Forest in Autumn. Size 20x35 feet. 





^^USSm 



DR, WILLIAM Z. KUMLEK 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 43 

25th. Ascension of rockets and tourbilliotis. 

26th. Kxhibition piece. — A Cross of Diamonds, showing in variegated 
lance work the geometrical form of diamonds, with attached cascades, firing 
and forming diamonds with revolving wheels, running in opposite directions. 
Size 28x28 feet, 

27th. An ascension of 30 inch bouquet bombshels and mines of sanci-S- 
sions. 

28th. Exhibition piece. — The 5//« /7c'7t¥'r.?— representing a number of 
sun flowers. Size 12x18 feet. 

2gth. A.scensioii of 4-pound rockets of fine variegated colors. 

30th. Exhibition piece — Jeivel Cluster — -consisting of a large central 
star surrounded by a scintillating cluster of jewels. Size 30x30 feet. 

31st. Ascension of 4-pound rockets and tourbillions. 

32nd. Exhibition piece — Flozvery Almond. — Size, 30 feet in diameter; 
showing two large rotating wdieels turning on one shaft in opposite directions, 
producing brilliant and ever-changing combinations of form and blending of 
colors. 

33rd. Flight of bouquet bombshels with golden rain and in brilliant 
transparent colors. 

34th. Exhibition piece. — Siiuset at Sea. — Size 30 feet in diameter. This 
piece is most elegant, imitating in color and brilliant tinted rays of light a 
sunset at sea, cascades firing in all directions. Eight stars appear in lance- 
work while a large fire wheel representing the .sun, is rotating. 

35th. Flight of 4-pound rockets and 4 pound tourbillions. 

36th. Exhibition piece — Silver Cross. — Fire, .size 40x40 feet. This 
piece consists of five lance .scroll wheels of large dimensions, with yarbs 
firing from four sides of each wheel, crossing the line of fire in every direc- 
tion. 

37th. Ascension of bouquet bombshels and mines of Sancissions. 

38th. Exhibition piece. — Young Amerieds Delight. — Size 30x30 feet. 
Consisting of a number of excentric rotating wheels in lancework and yarbs. 

39th. Flight of heavy rockets with gold rain and colors, tourbillions 
and mines of sancissions. 

40th. Exhibition piece. — Niagara Falls. — Size 75x40 feet. A monster 
painting of the Falls in fire paint. 

41st. Ascension of sodium and magnesium rockets and shells. 

42nd. Exhibition piece. — Monster Fiery Phaiiix. — Size 50 feet of solid 
fire, consisting of steel fire wheels of large proportions with brilliant yarbs 
and golden streamer batteries. A special set piece not surpassed by any ex- 
hibition in America. 

43rd. Rockets of large calibre in golden rain and gorgeous colors. 
44th. Flight of rockets of various size and color effects. 



..^1^0. 



y- "S^v 




KdliKRT M. KLLIOTT. 



THE CENTr:NNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 45 

45th. Exhibition piece. Dedicated to the various industries of Hamil- 
ton. — Imperial Mechajiical Coiiibinatioii. — Size 40 feet of soHd fire, showing a 
closed fan, opening automatically while burning, colored cascades with fine 
pointed stars and brilliant scroll-wheel at the bottom, rotating jeweled stars 
at the top in colored lance-work and brilliant fire. 

46th. Ascension of four pound tourbillions, mines of sancission and 
rockets. 

47th. Exhibition piece. Dedicated to the agricultural interests of But- 
ler County by the citizens of Hamilton. — Mamvwth Tropical Sun. — Consist- 
ing of two of the largest wheels ever seen in America, elaborated with four 
small revolving wheels, with side effect of thou.sands of Roman candles, stars 
of brilliant colored transparent lights and a simultaneous flight of 150 rockets 
with magnesium fire and various other colors, covering the whole horizon. 

48th. Special ascension of extra large and brilliant eight pound rockets 
and thirty-inch bombshells in variagated colors and golden rain. 

49th. Exhibition piece. Specially arranged and designed extra large 
Allegorical Exhibition of pyrotechnical skill never surpassed in size or bril- 
liancy in America. Dedicated to our forefathers of the past centennial, the 
present and coming generations of the second century of our existence. The 
design was a tribunal arch in colored lance-work with "HAMILTON CEN- 
TENNIAL" in double colored letters, with 1791 — 1891 on the sides. Large 
revolving globes and side wings of brilliant fires, magnesium and .sodium 
wheels, abundance of shells and profuse flight of colored batteries and san- 
cissions, finishing with a flight of 300 rockets of golden rain and colors. 

50th. Concluding exhibition piece. Dedicated by general committee 
of the Hamilton Centennial Celebration to the audience. 

G-OOID IsriG-HIT. 

Size 28x28 feet, .shown in letters of double lance-work 24 inches in 
height, with yarbs firing from all sides and a display of colored stars in a . 
brilliant flight. 

The citizens of Hamilton and surrounding country entered into the" 
spirit of the occasion in a manner worthy of a great and free people. For 
weeks prior to the date of the celebration, the different committees met 
almost daily. Business was but a secondary consideration and during the 
week of the celebration was almost entirely su.spended. The city was deco- 
rated in the most profuse manner with bunting, flags, flowers and every- 
thing that would add to its gala appearance or that would please the eye or 
excite patriotic emotions. 

The programme was fully carried out in all its details. That of Thurs- 
day evening was one of the most unique and intenseh' interesting, particu- 
larly for the youth of the city, that ever was seen. 

Promptly at 7:30 o'clock the bugle called together in front of the court 
house, the Hamilton batallion, which was to do guard duty. Soon the ward 
representations, which had formed in their respective wards arrived and were 







WII.I.IAM C. FKECHTMNC. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 47 

arranged into one grand procession. A short line of march was gone over 
and every youthful heart throbbed with enthusiastic patriotism as about him 
and above him, with the band playing inspiring national music, waved the 
red white and blue in every imaginable form. lyittle flags and big flags,— 
not a child but about him were the colors symbolical of freedom and patriot- 
ism. 

After going over the line of march the procession was reviewed in front 
of the court house by Mrs. Campbell, wife of Governor Campbell, who 
was grand marshal, and by the grand marshals of each division. 

First came a detail of police making way for the little ones ; and then the 
Hamilton Light Infantry as the guard of honor. The grand marshals fol- 
lowed in carriages. 

Then came a delegation with its numerous floats and may-pole with 
streaming ribbons, it truly was a representation of which to be proud. 

The first float of consequence was a beautiful representation of that fasci- 
nating fairy-tale "Schna Witchen," or Snow White. The little dwarfs in 
their mountain home were happy with their beautiful queen and surrounded 
her with all the comforts and pleasure that dwarfdom could produce. 

The prince and his attendants followed and then came a guard of mina- 
ture revolutionary soldiers with their sheep skin band. 

The may-pole surrounded by a bevy of girls dressed in every color of 
the rainbow was a beautiful sight and reminded many a heart, whose youth- 
ful throb had become chilled, of the merry times of long ago. 

Next came Cinderella, sitting before her god- mother, waiting to be made 
ready for the ball. This float was complete in every detail ; even the rats 
were there. 

After this, was the float containing the prince with the glass slipper, the 
stepsisters, their maids and others. 

Georgia jubilee singers chanted the old plantation songs, and dressed in 
the garb of slavery days, was a vivid representation of the progress freedom 
has made in one short century. 

In all her simple beauty, resting upon a throne of bunting and with all 
her surroundings profuse with the national colors came the Goddess of lyib- 
erty. At her feet crouched the tyrannical nations of Europe and Asia, while 
standing at her side, ready to do her bidding, was Uncle Sam. 

"Ivittle Sleeping Beauty," with her eyes closed to all about her, with 
her curly hair streaming over her shoulders, canopied by green boughs from 
the sturdy oak, and with a myraid of funny little dwarfs surrounding her, 
was the recipient of much applause. 

Columbus, accompanied by several Indians, before Ferdinand and 
Issabella came next. The Spanish court in all its splendor, presented a scene 
that will not soon be forgotten. 

Then followed the Rip Van Winkle float and Little Red Riding Hood. 




CLARK LANE. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 49 

The feast of the watermelons reminded many a colored man from the 
south of the happy days in that sunny land. 

The last float of this division was "The Old Woman that Lived in a 
Shoe." There was the old lady with her antiquainted bonnet and dress to 
match. About her were her numerous family, playing and fighting and get- 
ting into all the mischief that any child could discover. 

The next division was headed by some little lords on horseback, and 
were followed by a massive swan-boat filled with happy excursionists to 
Woodsdale Island park. 

Then there was the noisy, merry, tripping school children, with song 
and shouts of joy and waving over their heads the flag dear to every Ameri- 
can heart. 

One hundred years ago tricycles and bicycles were scarcely known, but 
here they were, decked in the beautiful red, white and blue, and ridden by 
little boys and girls, the pride of many a mother's heart. 

Another swan-boat, with its merry crowd of picnicers with their shouts 
of joy, as with banners waving, they go forth for a day's outing, recalled 
many a happy day in the summer just past. 

Then came an innumerable bevy of children, with Chinese lanterns and 
flags. Shout after shout went up as these future patriots, some of them 
scarcely able to walk, marched along as if already men and women and fully 
able to appreciate what all this celebration meant. 

Another float of this division was that of John L,odder and son. A 
beautiful queen, surrounded by her attendants, was lost amid a forest of 
flowers and plants, through the branches of which beamed the three colors so 
dear to us all. 

The next division headed by several hundred Chinese children in their 
funny littie costumes of every color imaginable. Some were little, some were 
big, some had long cues some short cues, but all were good representatives of 
our moon-eyed antipodes. 

Then came the girls with their spears, drilled in true-soldier style and 
in uniforms of red, white and blue, with red Turkish fez. These were well 
drilled, reflecting credit upon whoever taught them the military maneuvers, 
and were one of the greatest attractions of the parade 

There were school children without end. Every little toddler was in 
line with his flag and a shout for his country. The forty- four states were 
each represented by a stanch little patriot. 

lycd by a band of whistlers came the Japanese with their peculiar crazy- 
quilt dress and parasols. There could not have been a better representation 
of the people of the other side of the globe than was this. 

The next division was headed by a drum corps of little fellows scarcely 
big enough to hold their drums, followed by a band of young revolutionary 
soldiers in full uniform. 




MARK C. McMAKEN. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANENIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 51' 

Then came the Httle queens, some hauled in wagons, some walking 
under canopies carried by obedient servants. 

Then there was the butterfly queen surrounded by a body guard of 
butterflies with their wings spread, ready to waft their flight to the upper 
world. This was one of the most beautiful sights in the whole procession 
and elicited praise from everyone. 

The dwarfs and their queen came in for praise as did the shepherds and 
shepherdesses, with their peculiar dress and long bended crooks. 

Another May-pole was surrounded by a happy band of girls and was fol- 
lowed by another queen with her youthful subjects. She was escorted by a 
guard of brave little soldiers who, in their imagination, could whip the world. 

The school children, some in red, some in white and some in blue, fol- 
lowed, waving their flags and shouting for America and her banner of freedom. 

The first float in the last division was a beautiful queen with innumerable 
attendants which was followed by another queen with her subjects kneeling 
at her feet in humble devotion to her majesty. 

One of the best representations in this division was that of a half water- 
melon, on wheels and filled with little girls. 

Another May-pole was added to the festivities, followed by groups of 
school children of all sizes and ages. 

The procession closed with a grand representation of the travels o f that 
old fellow so dear to every youthful heart and for whom every child will .soon 
be looking — Santa Clans. With his reindeer drawing a .sleigh filled with 
good things, he made many a little one's eyes gleam with delight. 

After the procession had all passed the reviewing .stand and Hamilton 
battalion had cleared the street, a May-pole dance was given in front of the 
court house. After the grand march the pole was wound with great ceremo- 
nies and when the ends of the ribbons were reached and the last one platted 
about the pole, the end of the first day's celebration of our centennial was 
reached. 

The "Feast of Flowers and Youth" far surpassed the fondest anticipa- 
tions of every one. It was grand and words cannot describe it. Every little 
fellow held in his hand an Ameaican flag and patriotism is the only thing 
that that nights festivities could have taught. About this feast will cling 
many of the fondest recollections of our Centennial in the hearts of those 
who participated in it. 

It was for the youth and truly the youth enjoyed it. Nothing like it was 
ever seen before in Ohio, and another hundred years must pass away before 
such a sight can again be seen on the streets of Hamilton. 

The program for Friday evening was carried out to the letter and was 
one of the greatest successes of the celebration. For weeks previously, the 
different wards were busily engaged in preparation, and a pleasant rivalry 
arose between them as to which should be esteemed the greatest. It was 




CAPTAIN HENRY P. DHrSCHFCK. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 53 

•expected therefore, that many beautiful, entertaining and instructive features 
would be the result and the public was not disappointed. These different 
ward celebrations took place in the public halls and parks of the city. But 
a mere reference to each can be made here, as a complete description would 
require a volume. They consisted of musical and dramatic exhibitions ; 
recitations, addresses and comical presentations of various kinds. 

The First Ward program was instructive, etertainiug and amusing. 
The following was the program rendered : "Overture, Orchestra, Rag 
Baby; Ball, twenty young misses danced to the air, "Down went McGinty ;" 
Recitation, Miss Josephine Slater ; Maypole Dance twenty young ladies, led 
by Miss Kate Kennedy ; Vocal solo. Miss Maud Miller; Recitation Miss 
Pearl Murphy ; Selection, orchestra ; Spinning and Husking Bee, ten young 
ladies and ten gentlemen ; "Piano Solo," Sidney Durst ; Vocal Solo, Miss 
Kate Kennedy ; Selection, orchestra ; The First Ward Minstrels gave one of 
their inimitable performances which brought down the house, and Mrs. Mar- 
gedant concluded the program by reading a poem written by W. S. Warwick, 
of the Fir.st ward, especially for this occasion, The music furnished was 
from Middletown and deserved special notice for the pieces selected and 
rendered. 

The hall was beautifully decorated with festooning, graceful plants, and 
everywhere was seen the glorious red, white and blue. 

As an opening, Mayer's orchestra gave a concert. Dr. Dan Millikiu 
was the speaker of the evening. In his own inimitable style he delivered an 
address full of patriotism, interspersed with many laughable stories and those 
of a different nature, about which he wove lessons of love, duty, honor and 
devotion to liberty and mother country. Tne whole was a fine effort. 

Following this a quartette sang, "The Sea has Its Perils." Henry Wil- 
mer sang a tenor solo, Miss Tillie Brinker and John vStephan sang a duet, 
and Miss Bertha Sheehan, one of Second ward's leading belles, added to the 
festivities of the evening by rendering a solo in her most approved style. 

The last number of the first part of the program was a solo by Henry 
Brinker. 

The second part of the program was commenced by another rendition 
by the quartette. "Sweet and Low" was sung. Three solos followed, the 
first by Miss Tillie Brinker, the second by Henry Brinker and the last by 
Miss Ada Fye. All were good. The closing number was a duet by Henry 
Brinker and daughter. Miss Tillie. 

Second ward may well be proud of its celebration, because it was one of 
the best in the city. 

The residents of the Third Ward held an informal reception at Beckett's 
hall. The Martha Washington Zuaves entertained those present with an ex- 
hibition drill which was fine. The company was in command of Captain 
Jennie Holiday who was warmlypraised for her cool manner in drilling the 
vcompany. At 8:30 o'clock the young ladies left the hall and marched down 




DR. C. I. KhKI.V 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMIT^TON, O. 55 

on High street, where the}' gave a fine exhibition of their drilHng before a 
large crowd of spectators 

In Ludlow Park the residents of the Fourth ward clearly demonstrated 
that they are possessed with a genume spirit of patriotism. The promenade 
concert which took place in beautiful Ludlow park was a glorious success 
and those who had the project in charge deserve the highest praise. It is 
but just to state that Mrs. Josephine Weiler is entitled to no small share of 
the credit in making the promenade concert a brilliant and memorable suc- 
cess. It was through her indefatigable and unceasing efforts that the Fourth 
ward that pre-eminently stood out as the ward having attempted a great 
undertaking and likewise was grandly successful in carrying out the project 
to a brilliant ending. To describe the illumination and in any way do it 
justice would be utterly beyond the meager descriptive powers of the writer. 
To sav that the park was literally ablaze with countless lights would not in 
the least be extravagant nor an exageration of facts. Great lines of lanterns 
of unique and pretty design, hung profusely and dazzlingly from the sturdy 
oak to the delicately lighted glass globes below. The overpowering volume 
of light and dancing colors formed a most beautiful spectacle. 

It was 7:30 before the Apollo band arrived, and after they favored the 
vast audience with some charming music, M. O. Burns, master of ceremonies, 
introduced Mayor Larsh. 

In a few well chosen remarks the mayor introduced Governor Campbell 
to the assemblage. 

The governor, of course, devoted himself wholly to the early history of 
the city. His remarks were listened to with marked attention. Hon. J. J. 
McMaken and John F. Neilan also made brief historical speeches, referring 
to the Indians, the wild turkeys and the desolate forests of a hundred years 
ago which surrounded Fort Hamilton. At the conclusion of the speech 
making a triple quartette rendered several sweet songs which were loudly 
applauded by the enthusiastic crowd The Maypole dance which concluded 
the evening's festivities was very pretty. To the sweet strains of music the 
picturesquely attired and attractive little maidens gracefully plaited about 
the pole the nation's colors, red, white and blue, and then in reverse motion 
unwound it much to the delight of the crowd. 

The Fifth ward had no special program but participated in the great 
centennial meeting at the Court House, to which all the other meetings ad- 
journed upon the conclusion of their own programs. 

The meeting at the Court House was grand in size, enthusiasm, elo- 
quence and music. 

The musical program was a magnificent production and great credit is 
due to Professor Mayer and Director Schweinfest for its success. The whole 
city this evening was one splendid combination of decorations, brilliancy and 
enthu.siasm which was wrought to the highest, by the eloquent and patriotic 




RoiinKi c i\n. K i iN is !•; V 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O, 57- 

addresses of the distinguished speakers. Great as was the previous portion 
of the celebration, it was eclipsed by the monster parade of Saturday. The 
booming of the cannon in the early morning awoke the echoes, brought the 
thousands from their homes, prepared to crown the festivities with the great- 
est display ever witnessed in this country. 

The day's proceedings began at the Court House. After invoking the 
divineb lessing by Father \'arelman, the Chaplain, followed the grand vocal 
concert, in which five hundred trained voices participated, accompanied by 
an orchestra of one hundred pieces. 

Professor Mayer had spent weeks in preparation for this great musical 
event and the result was worth}- of his efforts. It was one of the greatest 
musical successes ever witnessed in this part of the country, and for this 
Prof. Mayer and all who participated, are entitled to great praise. 

The singing of the great National Anthem, "My Country" participated 
in by the school children under the leadership of Prof. Gottschalk and 
thousands of the audience, with the regular chorus, was one of the most 
inspiring scenes ever listened to and wrought up the immense multitude to 
a high pitch of enthusiasm. 

The musical program being completed, letters were read from distin- 
guished persons, who were unable to be present, after which followed the 
addresses. 

These addresses will be found in another place in this volume, and need 
not be referred to here further than to say that they were worthy the occa- 
sion and the learning and well-known ability of the gentlemen who made 
them. 

Next came the mammoth parade composed of four grand divisions. No 
language can describe the great spectacle presented by this vast moving 
mass, which contained within itself the best evidence, not only of the wonder- 
ful progress of the hundred years preceeding, but also of the magnificent 
manufactories and business enterprises of our city. No such parade was 
ever before seen in this city and it will doubtless be many years before such 
another will be manifested. 

Promptly at 2 o'clock, with the grand marshal Capt. W. C. Margedant 
at the lead, the long procession started from the head of Main street, and in 
turn moved over the line previously designated. 

The grand marshal and his staff were as follows ; 

Grand marshal, Capt. W. C. Margedant ; Chief of Staff, Thomas Millikin ; 
Adjutant General, F. D. Bristley ; Majors, J. F. Neilan, PI. h. Morey, h. M. 
Larsh ; Assistant Grand Marshals, Rev. E. W. Abbey, S. ly. Beeler, H. C. 
Gray, Peter Schwab, Rev. F. F. VarelmanTTTazard^ahn, Robert Allstatter,, 
Christ Pabst, Jos. H. Long, Thomas V. Howell, Joseph J. Pater, Fred C. 
Mayer, Dr. W. Z. Kumler, Prof. Alston Ellis, Geo. W. Stace, U. P. Deu.scher, 
Chris Beuninghofen, Dr. Dan Milhkin, Homer Gard, Chas. D. McBeth,. 




■,l-,l'll I I'A I 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 59 

W. C. Frechtling, W. L- Huber, Albert Dix, J. M. Long, Isaac Rogers, J. M. 
Downey ; aids-de camp, Allen Andrews, Dr. C. I. Keely. 

The parade consisted of four grand divisions as follows : 

First Division — Military. Col. George H. Phillips, grand division 
commander. 

This division consisted of the military and uniformed bodies. Grand 
•division commander and staff, 6th U. S. regular troops preceded by U. S. 
band, Ohio National guares and cadets, G. A. R. and soldiers of the late war 
and war with Mexico and uniformed and civic organizations. 

Second Division — Historical. Capt. Adolph Metzner, grand division 
•commander; Dr. Geo. C. Skinner, chief of staff; Max Reutti, assistant ad- 
jutant general; Gustave Steffe, F. W. Soehner, Albert Hossfeld, G. A. Lam- 
bert, W. W. Larue, Wm. E. Bender, John Robertson, John C. Rochelle, 
Chas. Diefenbach, James Tully, Phillip Conboy, I. N. Slayback, W. N. Gray, 
W. B. Brown, Chas. Sohngen, John Doellman, Henry Sohn, C. D. Mathes, 
assistant division marshals ; A. Schultz, Wm. Ritchie, Sam. D. Fitton, aids-de- 
•camp. 

Third DivisiON.^Industrial. Col. R. C. McKinney, grand division 
commander; Col. J. H. Springer, chief of staff; John B. Krocker, adjutant 
general. This division consisted of tableau wagons and floats, carrying rep- 
resentations of the various kinds of manufactories and other industries of 
Hamilton. 

The Agricultural and Civic division was under Chris Rothenbush, grand 
■division commander and the following staff; S. T. Harvvood, chief of staff; 
Robert M. Elliott, assistant adjutant general ; F. M. Hughes, James Reed, 
Philip J. Faber, majors ; Levi J. Truster, D. L- Tyler, James M. Lewis, 
James Linn, Nathan C. Flenner, R. M. Billingslea, Robert Long, James M. 
Carr, A. Morris, Jos. Billingslea, J. W. Sloneker, J. R. Emrick, Wm. Heer- 
man, P. J. Somers, Thomas J. Hughes, Wm. Allen, Isaac L- Riley, Chas. 
Fallert, W. H. Jacobs, A. J. Welliver, F. E. Humbach, Wm. Schlosser, 
Dr. J. J. Roll, John Bender, Jacob Seybold, assistant division marshals ; W. 
H. Todhunter, Frank Morris, aides-de-camp. 

The division was preceded by a band which was followed by the grand 
division commander and staff. Then came the clergy of the city, and dis- 
tinguished guests in carriages. Following these were the city and county 
officers and the municipal boards. After these came citizens generally, 
township delegations and all bodies not included in the other divisions, and 
every other person who desired to join in the parade. 

Every division was worthy of special mention and presented many 
features to excite the admiration of the vast multitude that witnessed them. 

This was particularly true of the second and third divisions which were 
from begining to end wonderful exhibitions of the great engenuity, and ad- 
Bistic skill both in their conception and execution. This is particularly true 




I'ROF. I". C. MAYER 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 6l 

of the Historical and Allegorical floats in the second division. 

With music at its head, came this division with its allegorical represen- 
tations of the times which this celebration calls to our minds. 

The first grand tableau wagon, or float represented the aborigines sur- 
rounding their uncooth home. The buckskin wigwams, with smoke curling 
from their apex, the black-haired, browned-skinned natives, the medicine 
man stirring his malarial bitters, the rippling stream of water flowing gently 
over its bed of gravel — all went to make this a scene of picturesqueness and 
instructive beauty. 

The second tableau represented old fort Hamilton. This reminded 
one of former times with its stockade, made of unhewn logs, with the cupola 
of the old fort towering over its top. Wandering about at their leisure or 
attending to their military duties were the soldiers dressed in the antiquated 
uniforms of revolutionary times. Within the stockade could be seen the 
representation of the old well which is now known as "Sohn's well," on 
Water street. The whole tableau was permeated with the true spirit of the 
times as they were one century ago, and, had one of our pioneer settlers 
been a witness of this representation, he would have gone into ecstacies over 
its realities. 

The third tableau represented the first pioneers, who penetrated 
the wilderness west of the Alleghanies, braving the inclemencies of the 
weather, until, amid surrounding forest, they reared a home to be protected 
by them against the ravages of the wild beasts and the savage attacks of the 
red man. The old army pump, as it has been used for centuries previous, 
raising its precious burden of pure, sparkling water. The little girl babe 
playing at its mother's feet, the house dog, brought from a home far away, 
the father, in all the sturdiness of his manhood, the sons filled with youthful 
promise, the sister with tenderness beaming from her eyes — all went to 
make a lasting impression upon those whose eyes beheld this masterpiece of 
creative art. 

The fourth tableau represented that which was the first symbol of equity 
and justice in Butler county — the first court house which was ever 
erected at this seat of justice. The old logs were worn with time. 
There were chincks through which the sunbeams playfulh' crept. In front 
of the building was a porch, under whose scanty shade the quondam politi- 
cian and the farmer, transacting business in the town, rested for a few hours 
to discuss questions of interest. In the second story of this rude structure 
was our first postoffice. The room was small and with a gothic roof. Into 
this humble place came the messages of love, the sad news of death, the 
glad news of prosperity and new-born relatives. Looking at this representa- 
tion one could see the strides civilization has made, when he beholds the 
magnificent stone structure within whose portals justice is now decreed. 

The fifth tableau called to mind many stirring scenes in the earl)^ history 







CAPT. W. C. MARGEDANT. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 63 

of the Miami Valley. Covered with canvass, peeping out through the rents 
in which were the scared children of our forefathers, as the Indians in their 
savageness, rushed upon the helpless emigrants. This was a stirring scene 
depicted in all its awful realty, and vividly told of the hardships of those to 
whom we can give thanks that the celebration of our Centennial ever became 
a possibility. 

Following this came the Goddess of Progress seated upon her imperial 
throne with the word "Hamilton" glistening in bright golden letters from her 
breast, covered with her silken canopy, and surrounded by all that the pro- 
gress a century could bestow. At each corner of this allegorical float was 
seated respectively the Goddess of Science, the Goddess of Art, the Goddess 
of Industry, and the Goddess of Music, representing her own sphere, how her 
domains had been extended side by side with the domain of the Goddess of 
Progress. Nothing of an allegorical nature could tell more vividly of our 
century's progress than did this float. 

The last tableau wagon in this division was a wonderful representation 
of that beautiful German fairy-tale "Schnaa Wittchen" — Snow White. We 
have all read the story and never before was it so impressively brought before 
our minds. The queen in all her splendor and the little creatures from 
dwarfdom brought back to us vivid recollections of our childhood days. 

Never before was there a grander pageant brought before human eyes. 
Every thing that centuries of art and investigation could produce were 
brought together to make this division a success. Seven beautiful tableau 
wagons interspensed with Indians. Revolutionary soldiers, weary emigrants 
and many pioneer ideas and customs made this one of the most attractive 
and interesting divisions in the mammoth parade. 

In the third division were represented all the great and varied industries 
of this great manufacturing city. First in size and importance came the 
Niles Tool Works and Gordon Steam Pump Company with massive floats 
exhibiting their particular industries followed by their twelve hundred 
employes marching eight abreast. Then the Black & Clawson Company 
the Long, Allstatter Company, the Bentel and Margedant Company, the 
Hooven, Owens and Rentschler Company, the H. P. Deuscher Company, 
the Richy and Dyer Company, the F. & L,. Kahn & Bros. Stove Works, the 
Cinciimati Brewing Csmpany, the Eagle Brewing Company, and scores of 
others with their thousands of employes, making a grand industrial pageant, 
unequaled in the annals of such displays, while each had numerous floats 
indicative of their particular line of manufactures. Many of these floats, 
particularly the Brewing Companies were possessed not only of a high 
degree of artistic merit but appealed strongly to the thirstv thousands who 
witnessed them that hot September day. 

The Hosier Safe and Lock Company had in this division a magnificent 
safe upon a wagon drawn by four splendid horses. It attracted universal at- 




CAPT. F. D BRISTLKY. 



THE CENTKNNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 65 

tention, not ouly because of its size and beauty of finish, but because the 
-company presented it to the Centennial Committee in which to preserve all 
the records of its proseedings and the history of Hamilton from year to year 
until the next Centennial Celebration. 

The business men of the city vied with the manufacturers in the exhi- 
bition of their wares. 

Large and expensive floats upon which were conducted in many in- 
stances, their business as carried on daily in their stores. 

J. Pabst and Sous' float was business and beauty. It was i8 feet long and 
10 feet wide and was handsomely decorated with flags, bunting, frieze and 
flowers. In the center was a large pyramid of bottles representing the 
various drinks, beers, etc, which the firm bottles. The pyramid was sur- 
mounted by a large ginger ale bottle. At each corner of the wagon was a 
pretty young girl in costume and in the center of each side was an artistic- 
ally painted and decorated cider tub with signs of various articles. 

GROTTO AND GNOMES. 

The Tile Works float was a beautiful thing. It was the idea and handi- 
work of Otto Metzner who had employed himself upon it at odd moments for 
several weeks. The float was the representation of a tile kiln located in the 
grotto and run by wee, wizened gnomes. The grotto was twenty feet long 
and sixteen feet high and looked rocky and real. The kiln was in the mid- 
<dle and the gnomes were firing up, and burning small tile, which they threw 
warm from the furnace, into the crowd. The tile were neat little souvenirs 
of the Centennial. Volumes of smoke made by a chemical process, poured 
from the smoke stack of the kiln. There were two tableaux on the float, 
the one in front representing Columbia and two Greek attendants and the 
■one in the rear being an allegory "Industry." Five heralds in the garb of 
the sixteenth century and carrying banners preceded the float, and five 
horses with gay trappins drew it in the procession. There was a man in 
uniform at the head of each horse. The Tile Works float was universally 
-admired and commented upon and was really one of the most artistic in the 
parade. 

H. J. Earhardt & Co's. float was built upon an elegant new delivery 
wagon. On the platform and beneath an arched canopy of flowers, flags, 
and frieze, there was a splendid specimen of a modern anthracite .stove. In 
the rear was a practical tinner, shown in the act of making tin cups. He 
had all the necessary tools at his side, and as fa.st as he made the cups he 
scattered them broadcast among the crowd. 

A UNIQUE EXHIBIT. 

F. p. Stewart's idea in connection with their monumental works was an 
excellent one. They were represented in the parade by a huge decorated 
stone wagon They showed the progress of the century in monumental 
-architecture. On the wagon was a large beautiful and costly modern monu- 




% 




THE CENTENNIAL AMNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 67 

ment — a sarcophagus, of spleedid design and finish, and near by was the 
stone memorial tablet of a hundred j-ears ago. The progress of the art was 
apparent in the difference. 

(GROWTH IN MUSIC. 

Diehl and Go's, float represented a century of Hamilton's growth in 
music. On the front part of the float there were Indians in native costume, 
beating "tom-toms" and singing war songs. In the rear was a Pneumatic 
Symphony organ. It played difficult and classical music. Among the 
pieces are 5th Symphony, Bethoven ; Symphony, B. minor, Schubert ; Rhap- 
sodic Hongroise William Tell overture, etc., etc. 

AN EXACT DUPLICATE. 

One of the greatest floats in the Third or industrial division was that of 
Tully & Dowling, the popular High street tailors. Their originality and 
thoroughness was never displayed to greater advantage than in this parade. 
The float was simply an elevated tailor shop on wheels. The floor was- 
10x20 feet in dimensions, and was the exnct representation of their merchant 
tailoring establishment itself. The float was elaborately decorated and over 
all, in sweet flowers, was the typical "goose," square and shears of the time 
honored profession. And there were the counters, over which Jim presided 
himself. There were the goods, the suitings, the overcoat-ings etc., etc. Jim 
was just as busy selling them there as if he had been in the store. And 
there was Tom with his square and shears, the pattern was quickly made, 
the suit or overcoat or whatever it was, cut out, transferred to the tailors 
who were also there, busy with the needles that plied their vshining spears 
quickly in and out, and there was the machine that great invention that did 
the work as fast as the hand could supply it. In short, from that wonderful 
wagon, an entire suit was ordered, made, furnished and delivered and with a 
fit that had the symmetry of the natural cuticle itself. The young and genial 
gentlemen of the firm, Mr. James Tully and Mr. Tom Dowling, couldn't 
possibly have thought of a more popular display. They gave an exact re- 
production of their shop and business methods and in fact simple transferred 
themselves for a few hours from their shop to the wagon and business went 
on uninterrupted. They were a most happy and feiecitous factor in the in- 
dustrial representation. 

S. H. Millikin's carpet store made a big and elegant display on their 
float. It was a hugh affair, drawn by four gaily decorated horses. The 
animals were covered with flags and bunting and wore fancy dusters, for 
plumes. The float itself was 9x15 feet in size and was the skeleton of a 
house, covered entirely with beautiful and expensive carpets, rugs and 
portieres. Along the sides rolls of carpets were piled in tiers. The front 
was tastefully hung with portieres, and at the back hung a beautiful and ex- 
pensive deer rug, 9x12 feet in size and completely covering that end of the 
float. Along the sides of the float and below the house were various signs 




THOMAS V HOWELL. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 69 

rand announcements. The display was essentially modern and elegant. 
Salesmen in continental attire, old fashioned suits and powdered wigs formed 
a part of the display. The plan of this association was to convey the idea of 
progres.siveness. 

There was one float that attracted an unusual amount of attention on 
account of the striking originality and daring of the idea. It was the float 
of the Panhandle Railroad Company, and was a box car of the size and pro- 
portions of a regular car It was built on a frame work and covered with 
canvas and painted to represent a Union Line car which is the Panhandle 
Eastern Fast Freight Line. In the parade it was manned by the little son 
of Yardmaster Welsh. The car was 28 ft. long, 8 ft. wide and 8 ft. high and 
is marked for a 60,000 lb. capacity which is about the avarage capacity now- 
adays. The light weight of the car is placed at 1791 pounds and the num- 
ber of the car 1891, which brings in the centennial. Ticket-agent Ray origi- 
nated the idea of this float, and afterwards saw that it was carried out. It 
represented the Panhandle, particularly the freight department and inciden- 
tally it showed the progress of the last twenty-five 3'ears in railroading. 

The Cincinnati Hamilton and Dayton Railroad was represented in the 
Parade by an exact reproduction in minature, of its famous Vestibule Lim- 
ited, Chicago Passenger Express Train. It was a masterpiece of artistic 
composition in execution and design. 

The Company's summer resort, Woodsdale Island Park, helped swell 
the parade, and produced great amusement among the children and others, 
by their donkeys and carts and other amusing features of the famous resort. 

Charles Richter's blacksmith shop just behind W. C. Frechtling & Co. 
was "in the procession" and kept up with it right along. That's a way he 
has anyhow. He also had his wagon there. There was a horse on the 
wagon, and a portable forge. There were three of the best horse shoers in 
the country there, and on the wagon they took the crude iron, molded it 
skillfully and scientifically into shoes, trimmed the hoofs, applied and swiftly 
attached the shoe and that horse was as clean .shod and correctly right there 
and then as ever a horse in miles around. The float was one of the most 
originally decorated in the parade. 

HARDWARE AND STOVES. 

The Jacobs Bro's, float was a complete exposition of their business in all 
its branches and received much favprable comment for its general excellence. 
It was a minature store room and was really a work of art. The roof was 
covered with slate, so arranged so as to show the sign "Jacobs Brothers 
1 891" prominently in red. On top was an artistic cresting of galvanized 
iron and the cornices were also of galvanized iron. Around the sides of the 
float were appropriate signs in ornamental lettering. In the center of the 
store room were several magnificent base burners of the most expensive and 
modern design and finish, around the sides hung hardware, saws, hatchets, 




GEORGE T. REISS. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 7 1 

chisels, bits, etc. of the finest quality. On the platform back of the store 
room were kegs of nails. The exhibit displayed the four branches of Jacobs 
Bros, business. 

A SPLENDID EXHIBITION. 

Gilcrest and Millikin had a float indicative of their business. Upon it 
were wax figures neatly attired in what is latest in the clothing line. The 
float was nicely decorated and drawn by four magnificent horses. 

One of the most attractive floats in the procession was that of the 
Fisher Canning and Preserve Works on which was an artistically arranged 
pyramid of canned goods, It attracted general attention and was highly 
spoken of. Many other beautiful floats representing the different business 
enterpri-ses of the city were in the procession besides many of the features of 
great interest such as Indian scouts painted and armed for the war path. 
Compauies of pioneer soldiers dressed in Continental costume as of one hun- 
dred years ago. 

One of the most attractive features of the parade was he Chief of the 
Second division, Capt. Metzner, dressed as General St. Clair, and all hisstaS" 
dressed as Continental officers with their long gowns and white uniforms. 

The parade of Fairfield Towhship to which was awarded the prize ban- 
ner for the best exhibition by any township was the best representation of 
pioneer clearing, log cabin, coon hunting, ox-wagon and old spinning wheel 
and hand loom weaving ever witnessed in the Miami Valley. It is exceed- 
ingly doubtful whether an exhibition at the end of the next century will be 
able to present so many genuine pioneer features. 

The parade was reviewed by Governor Campbell and staff, the Grand 
Marshal and Assistant Marshals and their respective staffs, in front of the 
court house, when it disbanded and the grand marshal and staff, division 
commanders and staffs formed in their respective places as .soon as the pro- 
cession had passed the grand stand, and escorted the governor to his head- 
quarters, and the Great Parade had passed into history. 

Promptly at 7:30 that evening was begun the great fire works display. 
It is unnecessary to attempt to describe it ; language would fail. The pro- 
gram printed in this book will give .some idea, although a faint one of its 
magnificense. It is sufficient to say that the program was fully carried out 
in every particular and the w^ondering multitude returned to their homes 
satisfied that they had seen the greatest pyrotechnical display ever presented 
in Ohio, The Centennial Celebration was over. It was a success from 
everj^ point of view. The men and women too, who made it such, felt fully 
repaid for all their labors. To organize such an enterprise and to conduct it 
to such a successful issue, required not only long and continued application, 
but to a great extent the neglect of private business. 

The people of Hamilton with but few exceptions deserve all praise for 
"their aid and encouragement ; and to the daily press of the city the News and 








MAX REUTTI. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



73 



the Democrat, all honor is due. These papers and also the Hamilton Herald 
and Volks Stimme, used their columns freely to advertising all the prelimi- 
naries, and the first day crowned their journalistic enterprise by their reports 
and illustrations of the celebration itself. 

In the early part of the preparations it was determined to preserve and 
perpetuate the whole proceedings in book form, for the benefit of future 
generations. Isreal Williams^ Rev. Edward W. Abbey and John F. Neilan 
of the Centennial Committee were appointed by that committee to prepare the 
matter for this book, with full power to arrange all the details and have it 
published. The committee has performed the labor assigned it and the re- 
sult is before the readers. The articles : The Courts, Transportation and 
Communication by rail and otherwise, Hamilton in Literature, Hamilton in. 
Politics, and others were presented by Mr. Williams. 

The Historical Introduction, and The History of the Centennial and De- 
scription of the Celebration, Parade, and Fire Works were prepared by Mr. 
Neilan. 

The other portions of the book were compiled by various church ofiicers 
and others and were edited by Hon. D. W. McClung, of Cincinnati, Ohio, a 
former well known citizen of Hamilton. 

This description of the parade and the different manufacturers and busi- 
ness firms having floats therein is necessarily incomplete, because composed 
moslly from memory, a long time after the event had passed and was almost 
forgotten. Provision had been made by the Committee for a complete his- 
tory of the celebration and parade at the time by an eye witness, but for some 
reason it was not done. This will account for any failure to note all the at- 
tractive features of the parade as it is impossible to remember at this time all 
the parts of that immense procession. 




OLD ClRCrS DAY I'AKAD)'. J N HAMILTON 




KUV, FRANCIS F. VAKl- I.MAN. 



PART II. 



ADDRESSES AND ORATIONS 



-BY 



^Prominent Speakers and (Liti^ens. 



HMTV^IL-TON, OHIO. 




THOMAS MII.LIKIN. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 77 

OPErlirlG ADDRESS. 

BY THOMAS MILLIKIN. 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentletncn : 

IT WAS a noble and laudable public sentiment that prompted this celebra- 
tion. We are here without distinction of political party, of religious 
-opinion, of age, or sex, or race or nationality to perform a great public duty. 
We are here to perform a filial as well as a patriotic duty — a filial duty we 
owe to our forefathers who risked their lives and their fortunes in subduing 
the wilderness and its savage inhabitants, and in laying strong, wide and 
deep the foundations of our great civilization — a patriotic duty we owe to our 
government for the great ordinance of 1787 — for its wise laws, for its patriotic 
and efficient public rulers and for its military aid. 

The cession in 1785 and 1786 of the Great Northwest Territory to the 
Congress of the United States imposed upon it the duty of extinguishing 
the Indian title and protecting the inhabitants from a merciless Indian war- 
fare. For this purpose Fort Washington at Cincinnati was built and garri- 
soned, and Arthur St. Clair was appointed Governor of the Territory and 
Commander of its armies. 

In August, 1 79 1, General St. Clair determined to erect another Fort on 
the east bank of the Great Miami River. He ordered Major Ferguson to 
mark out the ground for a small Fort to be enclosed with pickets and 
bastions — to employ all the men that could be spared for that purpose in 
cutting down pickets and carrying them to the place where they were to be 
put up. He suggested that it would require twelve hundred pickets — that 
they must be twenty feet long — straight — from nine to twelve inches in 
-diameter — they were to be butted at one end, and sharpened at the other, 
and placed firm and upright in the trench, and close together— a thin piece 
of timber called a ribband to be run around the whole near the top of the 
pickets to which it should be fastened with wooden pins. 

There were, besides, inside pickets, one between every two of the others 
— a bastion on the east and another on the west on which platforms were 
erected to scour the country east of the Fort with artillery, and to command 
the ford and the river for some distance up and down. There were barracks 
for one hundred men — a guard room — two store houses for provisions and 
barracks for the officers inside. 

The Fort was completed in about fourteen days. The work was done 
almost entirely by the labor of men. In performing this labor he suggested 
that three men could easily cut down, butt and point five pickets, and that 
seven men (six of whom with handspikes) could carry them to the ground — 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 79 

that working parties should be divided into squads of ten (in every one of 
which there should be three good axemen) and furnished with poles of the 
exact length the pickets were to be cut. 

These were the simple instructions for building the Fort. The im- 
plements used in performing the work were the cross cut saw, the auger and 
the axe. The Fort was completed September 30th, 1791, and then named 
"Fort Hamilton." 

Three years later the town of Hamilton was laid out on the same spot. 
Wayne's victory at the battle of Fallen Timbers ended the Indian war. The 
Fort was dismantled, the town grew into a city, and now, after the lapse of 
a hundred years we have met to celebrate the inauspicious event which cul- 
minated in making this one of the most enterprising and beautiful cities of 
the land. 

One hundred years ago the spot on which we stand was an unbroken 
wilderness. The woodman's axe had not resounded in the solitude of the 
woods, except in clearing a pathway for the invading army of St. Clair, or in 
cutting timbers for the Fort. The drum beat at break of day had not aroused 
the soldier from his sleep, nor had the trumpet sound at sunset given notice 
for him to retire. 

The banks of our beautiful river were fringed with noble trees. Its 
waters were undisturbed except by the flutter of numerous flocks of water 
fowl, and the deer, elk and bison slaking their thurst in the stream, and by 
the paddle of the Indian canoe. 

But the building of the Fort, the march of the armies, the dreadful bat- 
tles fought, resulting sometimes in disastrous defeat but eventually in 
triumphant victory, put an end to the Indian title and savage rule, and gave 
this beautiful Miami valley to civilization. 

- •^V'^We look back from this day through a hundred years — through a century 
of marvelous growth and development. The same sky is overhead, the same 
sun shines upon us, the same river that in January, 1791, bore upon its 
bosom the canoes of Simon Girty with three hundred Indian warriors to the 
attack upon Dunlap's Station, and in September of the same year flowed 
past the site of Fort Hamilton, still flows Jin its channel. The same hills 
that stood sentinel over the valley, and looked down upon the old Fort are 
still here, but stripped of the magnificent oaks that were their glory. 

But how changed everything else. The old Fort has disappeared and 
in its stead we have a city of twenty thousand inhabitants. The noble forests 
have disappeared beneath the stroke of the woodman's axe and in their place 
are farm houses, orchards and cultivated fields. The military roads cut out 
with so much labor for the passage of St. Clair have been succeeded by 
turnpikes, canals and railroads. 

We contrast today the rude Fort with our new Court house, our school 
buildings, churches and private residences — models of comfort and of archi- 
tectural beauty. We contrast the simple tools used in building the stockade 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 8l 

Fort in 1791, with the products of the manufacturing shops of our city, with 
the Corhss Steam Engine — with the machines for bending steel armor plates 
for ocean vessels — with the power punches and shears — with the paper-mill 
machinery, — wood working machinery — with every variety of agricultural 
implements — with the safe works and stove works and tile works — with the 
flouring and woolen mills — and with the various other products of our shops, 
all ot which have justly given to this city, not only a State and National 
reputation, but a reputation throughout the civilized world, as a great manu- 
facturing center. 

We make this contrast not so much in boast of our own achievements 
but as a greatful recognition of the services of our forefathers, who laid 
the foundation and gave us the opportunity for success. 

In the year 1835 the citizens of Hamilton celebrated the forty-fourth an- 
niversary of the building of the Fort. It was conducted exclusively by 
"Buckeyes," but all other citizens were invited to attend and participate in 

the celebration. 

The term "Buckeye" was defined to embrace all who were born in the 
State, or who emigrated to Ohio under the age of five years, and all who re- 
sided in Ohio previous to the adoption of the Constitution in 1802. 

Those who were prominent in conducting the celebration were : I^ewis 
D. Campbell, Henry S. Earhart, William B. Van Hook, Ezekiel Walker, 
William Bebb, Joseph Lee, William Taylor, Charles K. Smith, Jeremiah, 
Morrow, Jr., Samuel Walker, William C. Woods, Samuel Johnson, John B. 
Weller and James Rossman. 

But one of these prominent and patriotic citizens survive. That one is 
James Rossman, one of the venerable Vice Presidents of this assembly — a 
man whose life is without reproach, who now bearing the infirmities of 
eighty-nine years, unites with us with what strength remains to him in pay- 
ing a just tribute to the memory of the pioneers, and in celebrating the cen- 
tennial of the building of Fort Hamilton. 

There were present upon that occasion — fifty-six years ago — many sur- 
viving soldiers of the war of the American Revolution — men who fought at 
Camden, Eutau Springs, Kings' Mountains — who wintered with Washington 
at Valley Forge — crossed with him the Delaware at midnight, and at break 
of day won the signal victory at Trenton — men who fought at Brandywine, 
Saratoga and Yorktown. These veterans, when the revolutionary war 
ended had come to this Northwest Territory to locate their military land 
warrants, given to them in payment for their services. The third range of 
townships on which the City of Hamilton now stands — six miles wide and 
extending from the Great to the Little Miami River — having been set apart 
for that purpose by Congress. 

There were, likewise, many present in the celebration of 1835 who were 
soldiers under St. Clair and Wayne, who'lhad personal knowledge of Dunlap 
Station and Girty's attack upon it — who were at Fort Hamilton — who were 



f;:y£titeruU\\;J 




THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O, <S3 

in the disastrous defeat of St. Clair on November 4, 1791, and who were with 
Wayne when his legion with fixed bayonets and trail arms, charged and 
■ completely routed the Indians ot Fallen Timbers in 1 794. 

These soldiers and pioneers were living witnesses of the memorable 
event we have met this day to celebrate, and their presence added greatly to 
the interest of the occasion. Not one of tnem are with us today. 

In the Buckeye celebration of fifty-six years ago the accomplished orator 

• of the day, William Bebb, an eminent member of the bar of this county, and 
at a subsequent period Governor of the State, in his eloquent oration com- 
paring the progress of this country to that of the old, said : 

"If our career of national greatness commenced at a later period than 
that of the nations of the old world, does it not follow that the last maybe 
.first, and the first last? If we have fewer towers crumbling to ruin, we have 
more states rising to grandeur. If we have less in the past to ))oast ot, we 
have more in the future to hope for." 

.And then with prophetic inquiry he asked : 

"Who, looking at our progress during the last half century, shall set 
limits to the improvements of the next? What imagination shall now dare 
set bounds to the resources of this great valley of the West, as it will appear 
to our children, when fifty six years hence, they assemble on this spot to cele- 
brate the first centennial of the completion of Fort Hamilton? When the 
villages of the West shall have grown into cities, and the population .shall 
have increa.sed to many millions ; when its rivers shall have been united at 
their sources by canals and railroads, with the Atlantic rivers on the East, 
with the lakes of the North, and, perhaps, with the Oregon of the far West ; 
when all our territory east of the Rocky Mountains shall have been formed 
into States, and admitted into the Union." 

The voice of the orator has long since been stilled in death. The fifty- 
six years have elapsed, and the children of those who participated in the cele- 
bration of 1835 have assembled on this spot to celebrate the first Centennial 
-Anniversary of the completion of Fort Hamilton. 

They are here to answer the prophetic inquiry and to say that the 
imagination of the eloquent orator fell far short of what has become reality. 
We exhibit today an indestructable union of States, extending from the At- 
lantic Ocean not only to, but over and across the Rocky Mountains, and to 
the shores of the Pacific. We exhibit the villages of the West grown into 
magnificent cities, and the population increased to many millions. We ex- 
hibit a country rich in everything that should make it great and respected — 
the North and South, the East and West bound together by a written Con- 
stitution, imparishable only by the will of the people — bound together by 
the same illustrious ancestry and national history, by a brotherly love and 
by a common interest. We exhibit a happy, contented, intelligent and pros- 
perous people. 

For this grand result of a hundred years growth and development we 
would give a large share of gratitude and praise to those who gave us the 

• ordinance of 1787 — who subdued the wilderness, and the savage foe, to the 
''Western Pioneer, to the builders of Fort Hamilton. 





L. M. LARSH. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 85, 

HAMILiTON, 1791--1891. 

ADDRESS nv ],. M LAKSH. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Citizens'j)/ Hamilton : 

1 CONOR ATUIvATE you on this auspicious occasion. At this time you 
are endowed with as many of the attributes of genuine happiness as any 
community within the limits of the civilized world. You are blessed with 
good health, renumerative employment, excellent schools and churches, 
with good laws well administered, with prosjDerous manufactories and other 
business occupations, with superior railroad and other transportation facili- 
ties, with excellent farm lands surrounding and which are well cultivated, 
and with every facility for social, intellectual and moral enjoyment you are 
freeest of the free, richest of the rich and proudest of the proud. Your men 
bravest of the brave, and your women, fairest of the fair. In this your De- 
cennial year 1891 you are most prosperous of the pro.sperous, and may I not 
also truthfully add the happiest of the happy. 

Will you for a few moments take a retrospect with me for one hundred 
years to the initial period of our city's organization, whose centennial we are 
now so joyously celebrating. Until the year 1791, no community existed 
here, no whiteman had habitation or home. The savage man and savage 
beast held undisputed sway, their will through perpetual warfare was the 
ruling power. No progress was or conld be made in any place under such 
domination and that condition of existence would have continued until now 
had not the whiteman obtruded upon this savage solitude. The savage man 
was as incapable as the savage beast of intellectual or moral progress 
without contact with extraneous reformatory influences. Our pioneer fore- 
fathers were not idealish and perhaps they were not properly speaking reform- 
ers, they were practical eradicationists. They acted upon their well founded 
belief that the most certain road to successful competition with savage man 
and beast was to exterminate them, and they acted energetically and per- 
sistantly to secure that end, and as a consequence the community was soon 
rid of both, and the joy of prosperity and happiness took root and grew 
apace. The power of military dictation, first controled in the stead of the 
savage man and his contemporary, the savage beast, then quickly followed 
the organization of the civil polity — organization took the place of the military 
dictum. The court house became the successor to the military camp, in- 
dustry succeeded idleness, the forests disappeared and in their stead came 
cultivated fields the inclosure that constituted the Military Fort erected by 
General Arthur St. Clair and afterward enlarged by General Anthony Wayne 
formed the first nucleus of our now prosperous and pleasant city, as time 
rolled on, the then feeble village added to its growth, it did not like Johna's 
Gourd spring into full existance in one night, but rather like the sturdy oak 
that from small acorns grow. It grew slowly at first and more gradually 
afterwards and still more vigorously as surrounding influences operated in 
its behalf, until now it has become a prominent factor in the aggregation of 
communities that constitute the great State of Ohio. 

Citizens of Hamilton, Ladies and Gentlemen and Mr. President before 
taking my seat I again cordially congratulate you. 




JUDGE SAMUEL F. HUNT. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNI\rERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 87 

THE MIflJVII VflLiliEY, 1791—1891. 

RESPONSE BY HON. SAMUEL K. HUNT. 

T he President then presented Hon. Samuel F. Hunt, Presiding Judge of the Superi- 
or Court of Cincinnati, as one of the Ohio Valley boys, and known to every one present. 
Judge Hunt said : 

Mr. President, 'Ladies and (lentlcmen : 

IT is most interesting, after one htindred years have passed, to look back 
over the history and progress of a people, and trace the civilization 
which began in the clearings of the seeiningly unending forests, until it has 
reached almost imperial power. These frontier people, who won this Valley 
from the wilderness, were strong and freedom-loving, and characterized by a 
bold defiance of hardship and danger. They realized that they had been 
ordained for a great work, and they possessed the faith that enabled them to 
pass under the hard conditions of life only to be found in the fathomless 
depths of the woods. They cleared the acres with the axe, and defended 
them with their rifles. They believed, in the language of the great Ordi- 
nance, that religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good gov- 
ernment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education 
should ever be encouraged. The soil, too, had never been cursed by the 
unrequited toil of the bondman. Civil jurisdictions were established on the 
broad foundations of justice and humanity, 

THE VALLEY AT THE TIME OF THE PURCHASE. 

When the original contract had been entered into for the Miami Pur- 
chase, John Cleves Symmes, the purchaser, issued an address concerning the 
country. It was dated at Trenton, New Jersey. November 26, 1787, and is 
addressed to the "respectable public," and it is evident from the character of 
this immense gathering that their descendants are present to take part in 
these interesting exercises. 

John Cleve Symmes had been an officer in the Army of the Revolution, 
Chief Justice of the State of New Jersey, and a member of the Continental 
Congress. He says, in that address, that from his own view of the land bor- 
dering on the Ohio river, and the unanimous report of all those who 
have traveled over the tract in almost every direction, it is supposed to be 
equal to any part of the Federal Territory in point of qtiailty of soil and ex- 
cellence of climate. The winters were represented as moderate, while there 
was no extreme heat in summer. He pictured the situation as one to com- 
mand the navigation of several fine streams, and boats were frequently pass- 
ing by the land as they ply up and down the Ohio. There were no mountains 
in the track, and excepting a few hills the country was generallj' level and 
free from stone on the surface of the earth ; but there were plenty of stone- 






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THE CENTENNIAL AMNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 89 

• quarries for buildings. It was described to be well watered with springs 
and rivulets, while several fine mill-streams fell from the dividing ridge into 
the two Miamis, which were about thirty miles apart. These rivers 
were supposed to be navigable higher up in the country than the northern 
extent of the Purchase, so that the interior farms would have navigation, in 
the boating season, within fifteen miles at furtherest. He added that, for 
the quantity, a large proportion of the land, in the Miami Purchase, was sup- 
posed to be of the first quality, and the whole equally good compared gener- 
ally with the land of Kentucky. 

The Secretary of War had given the assurance of a friendly disposition 
to support the settlers against the Indians, by replacing a garrison of Fed- 
eral troops in the Fort which was then remaining on the land at the mouth 
of the Great Miami, and would greatly facilitate the settlement, and in some 
measure render safety to the first adventurers. 

The mill-streams as are thus described as falling from the dividing ridge 
of the Miamis are doubtless Mill Creek, the dry fork of the Whitewater, In- 
dian Creek, Four Mile and Seven Mile, and Twin Creek, and others, while 
the rivulets are those which to-day sing as merrily as they flow from the up- 
per lands of the \'alley as they did one hundred years ago. 

THE NAVIGATION OF THE GREAT MIAMI ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 

We are accustomed to associate the Great Miami with only the light 
canoe of the Indian, and picture the quiet expanse of water as only broken 
by the graceful motion of innumerable wild fowl. Probably the first printed 
notices of the Miami rivers will be found in the explorations made in the 
Western wilderness, between the years 1764 and 1775, by Captain Thomas 
Hutchins, of His Arittanic Majesty's Sixteenth Regiment of Foot, and pub- 
lished in Ivondon in 1788. The writer says that the Little Miami is too small 
to navigate with bateaux ; its high banks and gentle current prevent its 
much overflowing the surrounding lands in freshets. But the Great Mineami 
Afiferemet. or Rocky River, has a very strong channel, a swift stream, but 
no falls. It has several large branches, passable with boats a great way. 

It is not strange that the two Miamis were supposed to be navigable for 
some distance in the country at that time, for it was not until some years 
afterwards that Robert Fulton conceived the design of propelling vessels by 
steam, and a number of years elapsed before even his views were put into 
practical operation. 

John Cleve Symmes, as early as May 18, 1789, in a letter to one of his 
associates, hesitated whether the great commercial emporium of the Miami 
country should be located on the Ohio river, or on the bank of the Great 
Miami, in a large bend, some twelve miles from its mouth, or near the 
present site of Miamitown. He was ready to grant that more trade would 
pass up and down the Ohio, and many more boats would constantly ply 
•on a river thirteen hundred miles in length, but with a just pride in the 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. gi 

Purchase, he urged that the extent of couutry; spreading for many miles, 
on both sides of the Great Miami, was, beyond all dispute, equal, if not 
superior in point of soil, water and timber, to any tract of equal contents in 
the United States. In a very few years, from this Egypt on the Miami, 
would be poured down its stream to the Ohio the products of the country 
from two hundred miles above the mouth of the Great Miami, with no rival 
city or town to divide the trade of the river. 

Judge Symmes again refers to the Great Miami river in a letter on Sep- 
tember 17, 1791, from North Bend, to Jonathan Dayton. He speaks of the 
army of St. Clair having advanced some twenty-five miles and then building 
a fort on Boudinot's land — the City of Hamilton of today. The day before 
a boat with one hundred and twenty barrels of flour attempted to ascend the 
Miami river. This should have been done he thought in progues, or large 
canoes of one ton or one and a half tons burden, and it would have 
succeeded. 

Some of the wounded at the defeat of St. Clair were brought down the 
Miami from Fort Hamilton to Fort Washington, for General St. Clair, under 
date of November 20, 1791. writes to Captain John Armstrong, then in com- 
mand at this place, that the boat which should have replaced the one that 
brought the wounded, after struggling some days against the current of the 
Miami, making but two or three miles, had returned that night. There are 
those here to-day who have seen keel-boats, tied to the banks of the Great 
Miami, at Hamilton, to bear the produce of the Valley to distant points on 
the Ohio. 

It may not now carry the commerce of a great people on its bosom, and 
its peaceful waters may not be rufiied by the keel boat or even the progue, 
but the gently-flowing Miami, as it winds through this fertile valley, rustling 
with standing corn and expectant with golden harvests, is dearer to us than 
the blue Danube with all its poetry or the Rhine with all its legends. 

THE VALLEY AS IT APPEARED IN 1 79 1. 

In a letter to Jonathan Dayton, written as early as 1789, Judge Symmes 
refers to the country as healthy, and that it looked like a mere meadow for 
many miles, and Oliver M. Spencer, in an interesting narrative, furnishes a 
glowing picture of the Valley as it impressed him in 1791. This was before 
the axes range in all the woodlands, and before the towns smoked in all the 
Valley. This was before the log-rollings and house-warmings and barn- 
raisings and corn-schukings and country-quiltings had been exchanged for 
the latest waltz or progressive euchre. He says "the winter of 179 1-2 was 
followed by an early and delightful spring ; indeed, I have often thought 
that our first Western winters were much milder, our Springs earlier, and 
our Autumns much longer than they now are. On the last of February 
some of the trees were putting forth their foliage ; in March the red-wood, 
the hawthorn and dog-wood, in^full bloom, checkered the hills, displaying 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNlVKRSAkV OF HAMILTON, O. 93 

their beautiful color of rose and lily : and in April the ground was covered 
with May-apple, blood root, ginseng, violets, and a great variety of herbs 
and flowers. Flocks of paroquets were seen, decked in their rich plumage 
of green and gold. Birds of various species and ever}^ hue, were flitting 
from tree to tree, and the beautiful red bird, and the untaught songster of 
the West made the woods vocal with their melody. Now might be heard 
the plaintive wail of the dove, and now the rumbling drum of the partridge 
or the loud gobble of the turkey." He then speaks of the clumsy bear, 
moving doggedly off, and the timid deer, aroused from his thickest and clear- 
ing logs and bushes at a hound. There was, however, still the apprehension 
of the wily copperhead, waiting to strike his victim, and the horrid rattle- 
snake, more chivalrous, but ready to dart upon his foe, and the still more 
fearful and insidious savage, who, crawling upon the ground or noiselessly 
approaching behind trees or thickets sped the deadly shaft or fatal bullet 

CHARACTER OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY. 

The pioneers of the Miami Valley were compelled to act largely with- 
out precedent and to meet contingencies which could not have been antici- 
pated. These back- woodsmen were the van-guard of that great army of the 
advance which won the territory from the AUeghenies to the Rio Grande and 
the Pacific. It is true that the pioneers from Virginia and North Carolina 
had crossed the mountains into Kentucky and East Tennessee, but they did 
not reach the Ohio river untd some time afterwards. There was some in- 
terest manifested in the lands between the Miami rivers as early as the sum- 
mer or fall of 1788, but the first attempt for the settlement of the Miami 
country set out from the older districts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
There was no settlement before that time for fear of the Indians and the total 
want of military protection. Judge Symmes left New Jersey, late in July; , 
1788, with a train of fourteen four-horse wagons, and with sixty persons, in; 
wagons and on horseback, including his own family. 

The descendants of the men who settled the Miami Country can trace 
their lineage to a good stock. They came, in the first place, from a race 
historically bold, and some of them were officers and soldiers who had been 
educated in the severe and patriotic school of the Revolution. They came 
from New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, while Kentucky 
gave one of the original proprietors of Cincinnati and one of the founders of 
Lane Seminary. The "crosses" of blood are shown in the generations that 
have peopled this Valley, and in the social institutions, which were founded, 
and in the sacredness which everywhere invests life and libert}^ and property. 

Mansfield in his life of Dr. Drake pays this just tribute to the pioneers 
who settled the Miami Country. "There were among them, too, men of 
great strength and intellect, of acute powers, and of a freshness and original- 
ity of genius which we .seek in vain among the members of conventional 
society. Some were soldiers in the long battle against the Indians ; some 



If 




THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 95 

were huntsmen, like Boone and Kenton, thirsting for fresh adventures ; some 
were plain farmers who came with wives and children, sharing fully in their 
trials and dangers ; some were lawyers and jurists, who early participated in 
council and legislation ; and with them all, the doctor, the clergyman, and 
even the schoolmaster was found, in the earliest settlements. In a few j^ears 
others came whose names will long be remembered. They gave to the 
strong and rude body of society here its earliest culture, in a higher 
knowledge and a purer spirit." 

Man)^ of them brought their religion with them, too, for it has been said 
that the early Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of the Miami Valley were the kins- 
men of the Covenanters. 

THE MIAMI VALLEY IN 1891. 

But the days of the station or stockade fort and the block-house have 
passed away, although they played an important part in the history of the 
back woods. The puncheon floor and the roof of clap-boards have given 
way to the more commodious homes made necessary by an advancing civili- 
zation. The buck antlers no longer hold the ever trusty rifle, and indeed 
the buck antlers themselves have disappeared. 

The attack on Dunlap's settlement, not far from Venice, in this county, 
on January 10, 1791, led by the infamour Simon Girty, at the mention ot 
whose name the women and children of the Miami country turned pale, and 
the attack on Whites Station on the old Hamilton road, at the third crossing 
of Mill Creek, on October 19, 1793, read like one of Cooper's novels. 

It seems sirange to us that Colonel Robert Elliott, a contractor for sup- 
plying the United States Army, should have been killed by the Indians, at 
the old Fleming place, near Springdale, while on his way from Fort Wash- 
ington to Fort Hamilton, while some pack-horsemen in the government ser- 
vice while stopping at the first little stream which crosses the Springdale 
turnpike below Carthage to give their horses drink would receive such a 
volley from the Indians as to give the name of Blood)' Run to the stream — a 
name it holds to this day. 

The "clearings" which were bounded by a dense region of shadowy 
woodland which encircled the cabin door have extended into cultivated 
farms, and the spires of churches and chimneys mark the spot of trackless 
forests through which even the sunlight could not enter to brighten their 
mysterious aisles. 

We stand to-day on the heights of a hundred years — a century crowned 
by the blessings of liberty and order and good government. There is a just 
cause for congratulation in the progress of our Valley. It may well chal- 
lenge comparison with an equal extent of territory in any part of the habit- 
able globe in the fertility of its broad acres ; in the character of its water, 
timber and roads ; in its school-houses ?nd academies for higher learning ; in 
its churches and the catholic spirit which prevades their creeds, and the in- 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 97 

stitutions fcr the widow and orphaned children ; in the reUef which it extends 
to the homeless and destitute, and in the charity which it offers to the help- 
less child of want ; in its telegraphs and telephones and fountains and parks 
and Music Halls and lyibraries, in its homes where the incense of domestic 
comfort rises on so many altars and where household gods are twined with 
evergreen," in its influences for morality and parental obedience and respect 
for constituted authority, in the speedy and impartial administration of 
justice and in the spirit of an undying loyalty to country. 

THE PATRIOTIC SERVICE OF HER SONS. 

The sons of Miami Valley have met every obligation of good citizen- 
ship. Three of her sons, either bv birth or adoption, have filled the Presi- 
dential chair ; eleven have been Governors of Ohio ; nine have been Senators 
of the United States; one has been Chief Justice and two have been Associ 
ate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States ; some have been 
members of the Cabinet ; some have represented their country in the highest 
Courts of Christendom ; some have sat on the Supreme Bench of Ohio ; some 
served in Congress with great distinction and largely directed National legis- 
lation in the important period of the civil war, while one was the first mis- 
sionary and the first author to carry the Gospel beyond the shores of the 
Mediterranean. 

They were gallant soldiers in the war with Mexico, in the struggle of 
1812, and rendert-d patriotic services on every battle-field in the war for the 
Union. We remember with lasting gratitude their devotion to their country, 
and on this centennial day, reverently do honor to the memory of the gallant 
Butler and those who fell with him on that day of dreadful disaster at St. 
Clair's defeat, to the memory of those brave and heroic men who followed 
Anthony Wayne and perished at last at the Fallen Timbers, to the memory 
of the hardy pioneers who protected the frontiers and saved defenseless set- 
tlements from the tamahawk and scalping knife of the Indian, to the 
memory of every man, whether on land or on sea, who has lifted up his 
hand for his country. 

HITHERTO THE LORD HATH HELPED US, 

In the midst of these multiplied evidences of material pro.sperity, and 
with all these blessings of civil and religious Hberty, which enwrap us as 
gently as our mothers' arms, we can not but look with gratitude to that 
Providence wdiich directs the destinies of Nations as well as of men. Hither- 
to the IvOrd hath helped us. 

With an abiding attachment for our free institutions, and with a sublime 
faith in the future, we now enter upon the second century of the Miami Val- 
ley. 




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1^ 



GOVERNOR JAMKS K. CAMPBEl^L. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 99 

THE STATE OF OHIO, 

BY JAMKS E. CAMPBELL. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : 

THE duty assigned me is to speak of Ohio — the commonwealth which has 
given birth to many of us ; and of which whether native or adopted 
children, we all are justly proud. 

There is something in Ohio scarcely to be described in words — that 
possibly does not exist to the same extent in any other state in the Union ; 
that is, the composite, cosmopolitan, mixed blood of her people. The lines 
of immigration which set into this state when first opened to settlement 
after the Revolutionary war, were many and varied. There came in a com- 
mingling stream, the Huguenots from South Carolina, the mountaineers 
from North Carolina, the Scotch-Irish from the valley of Virginia, the Dutch 
and Quakers from Pennsylvania, the New Englanders and New Yorkers. 
These various stocks were joined in marriage, and have been intermingled 
.since with strains of blood from every civilized nation of the world; and the 
result has been that Ohio, in the last half of the Nineteenth Century, has 
contribited more great names to history than any other state, or nation, with 
the same population and resources. 

When Washington gathered his generals around him at Valley Forge, 
where they were freezing and starving, and the patriots cause .seemed at the 
lowest ebb, he saw, with his prophetic vision, that Ohio would some day be 
what she has since become, and he exclaimed, "If we are overwhelmed we 
will retire to the valley of the Ohio, and there we will be free." 

Those early settlers were soldiers of the Revolution. They had their 
land grants here, and they left the East, which was the effete civilization of 
that day. They had defied the power of Great Britain, and conquered their 
liberties. When they came to Ohio they laid the foundation in morality, 
integrity, intelligence and honor of that great commonwealth whose glories 
we are celebrating this day. They followed out their careers here ; they 
fought the Indians, breasted the storms and privations of the wilderness ; 
sometimes they were lead by "Mad Anthony" Wayne ; sometimes by Arthur 
St. Clair, the first governor of the territory. They reared such pioneers as 
Simon Kenton, and others whose names we cannot pause to recall, but all 
of whom will enter into the history of the state forever. 

Then came the second generation, and with them the war of 18 12.- 
There is scarcely one of you now^ in middle life but, in his own household, 
has heard the old people tell the story of that struggle with the treacherous 
Indian, supported by the power of Great Britain. I have recollections going 
back to the stories of my grandmother, who, upon a certain Sunday, riding 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. lOI 

along to visit her father, sat behind my grandfather on a pilHon, with a baby 
in her arms, and there came a courier, his horse covered with foam, galloping 
down the muddy roads crying out to the houses on the right and the left, 
and to those whom he met, the terrible tidings of Hull's surrender. The 
men went at once to the conflict, and the women remained at home in dread. 

After this war the people turned their attentii>n to the arts of peace, and 
were soon running steamboats down the Ohio river, to the intense surprise, 
and in some cases alarm of the untutored people of the country. The wil- 
derness was opened, roads and canals were built, and, with the exception of 
the Mexican war, which gave to Ohio Hatner and Morgan, and a few other 
heroes, there was scarcely a break in the peaceful growth and improvement 
of the country until railroads and telegraphs seemed to crown the summit of 
human achiev^ement. 

Then came the great xuar, in which on the muster rolls of the Union, 
Ohio wrote three huudred and twenty thousand names. She wrote them at 
THE TOP I need not recount then — Grant, vSherraan, Sheridan, Mc- 
Pherson, the fighting McCooks, Custar, Hazen, Steadman, Ros.crans, Lytle, 
time forbids a cursory mention even of the greatest. When the battle above 
the clouds was fought forty -three Ohio regiments reached the top of the 
famous mountain. In the last 3'ear of the war, when she was depleted of 
her resources, and her best and bravest were either in the field, th-> hospital, 
or the grave, in ten days she raised, equipped, and sent to the front forty 
thousand men. There is but one episode in history like it, and that is the 
hundred days between Elba and Waterldo. 

The motto inscribed upon her banner is, 'Tmperium in Imperio" an em- 
pire within an empire. Whoever suggested that motto for this state must 
have been gifted with more than ordinary foresight ; for, if there be any- 
where on earth an "empire within an empire," it is the State of Ohio as one 
of the United States of America. She is an empire in commerce. If you 
track the civilization of this nation across the continent, it trails across the 
state of Ohio. It is the throat of the country. I need not tell you here in 
the valley of the Big Miami what .she is in agriculture; it would be a work 
of supererogation. She is an empire in mineral wealth. Not only is she 
supplied bountifully with coal, but she has those wonderful discoveries of 
these latter days — oil and gas. She is an empire in population, numbering 
within her borders more people than George Washington ruled over when 
he was president of the United States. Her history in peace cannot be re- 
cited in the brief time at our disposal, but she has done much more than her 
share towards the government of the country. Presidents, cabinet ministers, 
chief justices, statesmen and jurists has she furnished to the nation. She 
has achieved a high name in art and culture. Xo people in the world are 
her superiors in popular schools of learning: while her press, pulpit, and 
other educational influences are unexcelled 

Her motto speaks truly when it says she is "An empire within an em- 
pire." I yield to no man in love for Ohio. Upon her soil were born my 
parents, my wife, my children — everything that makes life worth living and 
God worth looing. I am proud of her banner, with its beautiful sun-burst 
and garnered sheaf; but, after all, she is only an empire withiyi an empire. 
When we turn our gaze from her banner to that other banner — the one that 
counts upon its folds forty-four stars, each as beautiful, as bright, as eternally 
fixed in its place as the star of Ohio, then are we all alike, our love for Ohio's 
banner is merged into an infinite affection for the other. 




REV. W. O. THOMPSON. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 103 

THE UNITED STATES. 

BY W. O. THOMPSON D. D. 

Mr. President, Ladies and iientlemen : 

OUR watchword from 1791 to 1891 has been progress. Our history has 
been made possible by the sure foundations laid by our fathers. We 
stand today on much higher ground than they in 1791. We are not dis- 
posed however to cast a reflection upon the fair name of our fathers. We 
are glad rather that as their sons we have met their brightest anticipations. 
They met the problems that faced them in 1791 and we are glad to believe 
that 1 89 1 will not be criticised for its incapacity. Americans were proud of 
their citizenship one hundred years ago. Today no more honorable crown 
is worn than that same citizenship. This is, as we believe, the natural result 
of a free people under a free government. The dates upon either side of my 
topic suggest some interesting contrasts that I shall briefly name as profit- 
able for our meditation. 

First, we mention the contrast in territory', In 1791 we had a magnft- 
cent territory of 820,680 square miles situated on the eastern slope of the 
Alleghenies far surpassing in extent and natural resources many of the great 
nations of the earth. Now we have 2,970,000 square miles not including 
the territory of Alaska. This wonderful stretch of land reaches from ocean 
to ocean thus giving us a position of peculiar .strength. But four times the 
area in square miles does not suggest the whole truth. This new territory 
embraces the richest agricultural lands in the world. The beautiful and 
fertile Mississippi valley then an unexplored region, is now a fruitful and 
prosperous empire. Beyond lies the Rocky Mountain region the great silver 
and mining country that is annually adding to the wealth of the world and 
supporting a steadily increasing population of happy and prosperous people. 
Beyond the Rockies toward the Pacific lies the land of flower and oranges — 
of wheat and gold whose varied climate and industries, together with a soil 
rich beyond expectation has made the Pacific coast country the wonder of 
the modern world. The territory thus comprised in the United States has 
no parallel in history. It is estimated that we have 1,500,000 square miles 
of arable land. A thuusand millions of people would not as heavily tax the 
producing ability of our soil as some European countries are now taxed. 
The best days of Roman Empire never saw a territory of like extent and fer- 
tility. Among modern nations the United States has the garden spot ot the 
earth — a moderate climate, fertile soil, unmeasured mineral resources and an 
expanse of territory well watered, that makes our natural resources surpass 
tho.se of an}- country on the globe. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 105 

The second contrast may be found in the population. Our growth has been 
the marvel of history. Patrick Henry eloquently spoke of three millions of peo- 
ple armed in the holy cause of liberty as an invincible host. We can now plead 
sixty millions, not less, in love with our country and her institutions. This 
vast number of people is but a beginning. It has been computed that the 
State of Texas could support the entire population of the United States and 
that the whole country could readily support one thousand millions. Such a 
population would not more densly populate our country than some countries 
are now settled. To this population we are now adding year by year nearly 
thre-quarters of a million from other lands. Our cities are growing with 
wonderful rapidity. In 1791 one in thirty of our population lived in cities 
of 8000. Now nearly one fourth live in such cities. In 1791 there were 
not more than half a dozen cities with 8000 population. Now we have 
nearly 300, so wonderfully has our population grown. This fact alone 
bespeaks our greatness and ofTers to the thoughtful man a serious problem. 

A third contrast is suggested by the progress of government. Then the 
ship of state was but fairly launched. The experiment of a government of 
the people and for the people was something new in the world's history. 
Many were the prophets of evil who could tell of the perils to which the 
young nation was exposed and of her .sure destruction. But time has put 
the prophets to shame. We have forever banished slavery from our borders. 
The spirit of our constitution is now better understood, and more loved than 
when first written. Evils have been corrected, provision has been made for 
development and today the government of the United States is an inspira- 
tion to every lover of liberty throughout the world. We have a representa- 
tive government of the people in which majorities rule while carefully 
guarding and maintaining the rights of minorities. This doctrine so truly 
American has not only in the century past brought our own government to 
great strength, but it has produced a more liberal spirit in other govern- 
ments. Our principles a century ago were looked upon as experiuients. 
Now they are everywhere regarded as a bulwaik to liberty and the key to 
progress. In 1791 we had just emerged from a war that determined whether 
such a government as ours should be an experiment. Since then we have 
emerged from a second war within our own borders that finally tested the 
question v^hether that government might live. We have come out of the 
struggle purified and strengthened until we stand to day more firmly rooted 
in the afiections of our people than ever before. 

A fourth contrast is to be found m our wealth. 

A century ago we possessed a country of possibilities. It is still a 
a country of possibilities. Meantime we have grown to be the richest coun- 
try on the globe. Our wealth has been calculated at about forty-five thou, 
sand millions. This vast amount too is nearly all a recent product. Great 
Britain is by far the richest country in Europe but our wealth exceeds hers 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 107 

% nearly three hundred millions. Our resources too are but little developed. 
A large portion of our lands are not yet tilled. Our agricultural population is 
beginning to learn the advantage of scientific methods and of intelligent 
farming. No man has yet conceived of the vast wealth that our agriculture 
may yet produce. Our mineral wealth is yet but little developed. New 
discoveries are constantly revealing new mineral resources. The wealth ot 
commerce steadily increases and when our ocean commerce shall have been 
put upon a good basis, our country will be in position to lead the world in 
producing and gaining wealth. Despite the destructive effects of war, we 
have constantly increased in our national wealth. The record of the last 
twenty years in this direction has no parallel in history. 

A fifth contrast is seen in the matter of applied science. The message 
of 1 89 1 to 1 79 1 in the field of science as applied to the comfort, happiness 
and safety of the people reveals a new world. At that day the world knew 
nothing of the railroad, telegraph, telephone, phonograph, microphone nor the 
many other inventions of the modern mind. The progress of the world has 
been greatly facilitated by the application of science. One by one we have 
unlocked the secret storehouses of nature. We have invented machinery 
beyond all imagination. The humblest citizen is made the beneficiary of 
the most important discoveries of science. We have over 150,000 miles of 
telegraphic lines and almost as many miles of railroad. Telephones connect 
city" with city and villiage with village. These conveniences have brought 
every part of the world into close communication with every other part. 
The modern mail service is the world's wonder for efficiency, rapidity and 
cheapness. Electricity has become our servant in lighting our homes, 
and furnishing rapid transit. The weather department of our government 
has been brought to such efficiencey that by our rapid communication from 
one part of the country to another we are able to forecast with great cer- 
tainty changes of temperature and weather— to provide against impending 
storms, and the destruction of the elements in such way as often to save 
both life and property. Applied sience has done much to ameliorate the 
suffering of men and to give increased safety to people. Of all these things 
1 79 1 new nothing. The progress of the century in this way has brought a 
new world indeed. 

A sixth contrast is suggested in our educational and religious progress 
Now here will the contrast seem sharper. The public school, in which is 
mistured the highest patriotism, has always been a crown of glory to our 
country. An annual expense of one hundred millions only begins to tell 
the story of the work done in this direction. Our system has grown and ex- 
panded until the average high school now does more for the pupil than some 
colleges of one hundred years ago. In addition to the public school is the 
private school, the normal school, the business college, the technical schools 
of all sorts, the agricultural colleges, the scientific schools, the colleges of 




LAKE AND KKFLKCTION, GREENWOOD CEMETERY. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I09 

arts, the professional schools and the universities. We are coining to the 
days of large things in this line. The nation has given liberally to encourage 
education in the states and the states in turn have given large amounts. 
The church and private individuals seem to rival one another in their zeal 
to provide for the education of the people. All this it is important to note is 
in the interest tor the masses and not for the few. One hundred 5"ears ago 
a fair education was a luxurj' enjoyed by the favored. Now such provision 
is made that every industrious willing person has within his grasp a good 
education. This wide spread intelligence is fast giving character to our 
country. Instead of an occiisional man of rare excellence, our system now 
finds its best product in the higher average of the whole people. 

Closely allied to our educational development is the religious growth. 

So impartial an observer as Prof. James Bryce declares the people of the 
United States the most activel}' religious people in the world. The religious 
progress of the century has been a marked feature, not more in the increased 
numbers professedly allied with religious enterprises, than in the spirit of 
the work. The religious world is active and aggressive. Every land upon 
the globe is the subject of religious conquest by the American people. This 
world wide movement is the distinguisliing mark of our century in leligious 
histor3^ We have seen too a growth of the charitable spirit of the church, 
an elevation of morals and a devotion that brings great satisfaction to the 
earnest student of our history. It fills the future with hope. 

Thus briefly have I indicated a few contrasts that suggest the growth of 
our century. We have, as I believe, a just cause to congratulate ourselves 
upon the close of the hundred years of history that we today celebrate. We 
have cause to congratulate ourselves upon the prospect of the future. As a. 
Nation we need but to keep our approved principles in full view and pursue 
that steady, conservative and progressive course that so far has marked our 
histor}', if we would have each succeeding year add lustre to its predecessor. 
We are ful! of hope. Our Nation has proved her stiength. While therefore 
we rejoice in 1791, we rejoice yet more on the prosperity of iSgi. 




(.KN. -SA.M I 1,1, 1-. i.AK\ . 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. Ill 

THE WORLiD. 

BV SAMUEL F. CaRY. 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : 

FROM the truthful, brilliant aud eloquent addresses to which we have 
listened on this anniversary occasion, we of the Miami Valley with 
one accord conclude that "our lines have fallen in pleasant places and that 
we have a goodly heritage." 

Not one in this vast assembly if permitted to make his own selection 
would have chosen any other home, any other country, an}' other form of 
government, or any other century in which to pass earthly probation. 

The theme assigned me is the world in 1791 and 1891. The few vener- 
able natives of the Miami Valley here present who have passed their years 
of three score and ten if called upon to enumerate the changes they have 
witnessed since itheir early recollection would not know where to begin. 
If it were not for the graves of kindred who have fallen asleep and a few old 
landmarks it would be difficult to convince them that this is the place of their 
childhood. 

Were it not that the milestones are distinctly marked which denote the 
flight of time, we would be pursuaded that a thousand instead of one hundred 
years had passed since 1791. Important events, and wonderful changes 
have been crowded into the century, which signalize this as the most won- 
derful period in the worlds history. 

We have not time to speak of the changes which have been made in 
the divisions and sub-divisions of the earth by the different tribes and nations 
inhabiting it nor of the changes in the forms of government, except that in 
all of them the tendency has been towards a recognition ot the rights of men 
to govern themselves. Republican forms of government have been estab- 
lished in all the states of Spanish America and in France. Where old forms 
have been retained, power has been gradually passing from the few to the 
many and the thrones of tyrants are going into decay. The people instead 
of being the tools of tyrants, and like the last of Egypt, their existance only 
known by the desolation which have marked their progress and aperting 
their manhood and their inaleinable rights. 

The fatherhood of God and brotherhood ot men is a principle forcing 
recognition in all lands. 

One hundred years ago the right of property in man was claimed by the 
most highly civilized and christian nations. One hundred years ago the 
slave trade was regarded as legitimate commerce. Even our christian 
Mother England was engaged in capturing negroes from the African coast 
stowing them away in vessels constructed for the purpose and disposing ot 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMH,TON, O. II3 

them as human chattels wherever a market could be found. England's 
sovereigns participated in the profits of the traffic ; now the slave trade is 
pirac}- by tUe law of Nations. 

By the richest baptism of blood ever poured upon freedom's altar, 
slavery that greatest impediment in the way of the triumph of christian 
civilization his been washed out in the land of boasted freedom. England 
has stricken the shackles from millions of slaves in her colonial possessions. 
Spain no longer recognizes the right to barter in human flesh. Russia has 
abolished surfdom. 

These sudden and eventful changes have been hastened in their coming 
by a conjunction of causes. By harnessing together steam and electricity 
distance has been annihil ited and the whole human family have been gather- 
ed around the same fireside. 

Heathen and barbarous nations once at an infinite distance are now our 
neighbors. At the sound of the axe and the hammer, the whistle of the 
steam engine and the tick of the telegraph, the rude demon of barbarity has 
fled away and by the benign influence of the christian religion we bow 
around the same altar worship and pay our vows to a common Lord. 

The boundaries of science have been enlarged and the area of human 
knowledge indefinitely extended since the year of our Lord 1791. 

Modes of communication, of transacting business, of travel, of living, the 
implements of peace and of war have undergone an entire change. If those 
who finished their earthly probation a century ago were permitted to revisit 
the earth they would find few old familiar landmarks in the physical, intel- 
lectual, moral, social or political world. 

This earth would be a foreign land to them as much as would this beau- 
tiful city of Hamillon to those who felled the first tree and built the first 
cabin on the bank of the Miami one hundred years ago. 

This is but a type of the changes wrought everywhere in the civilized 
world. This generation has found that the resources of nature are inex- 
haustible and that all of them can be made to minister to man's infinite 
wants, and contribute to his happiness. He can even make the lightning 
his message boy. 

The opinion of some and especially among the aged is that while the 
world is advancing in knowledge it is degenerating in morals. This is a 
very great mistake. Moral as well as physical and intellectual progress 
characterize the age in wliich we live. Formerly our knowledge of events 
was bounded b}' our immediate neighborhood. Now the daily events occur- 
ring anywhere on the planet are recorded in our daily papers. Whatever is 
startling or sensational, no matter in what remote corner of the earth is in- 
stantly seized by the news gatherer. Events a week old however important 
are stale and uninteresting. 

If a city in Egypt is being bombarded by a hostile foe we read an ac- 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I I > 

count of it while it is in progress. If a Russian Emperor is assassinattd, we 
know the particulars six hours before it occurs, because our messenger has 
outrun the rapid flight of time. Inventions to subdue and control the forces 
of nature and compel them to do the will of their master forcibly attest the 
truth of the declaration that while "the heavens are the Lords, the earth he 
has given to the children of men." Man cannot make a requisition upon 
the earth or the atmosphere, or upon any of the elements which will not 
meet with a ready response. If in the animal world subjected to his will 
there is a deficiency of oil to lubricate the worlds machinery he only needs 
to penetrate the earth, and rivers of oil pour forth. If he wants more light 
or heat, or increased motive power, he utilizes the store houses of gas, or 
converts the lighting into artificial .suns, or harnesses the firybirdof heaven 

to his car. , 

Dr. Lardner said that the Atlantic Ocean could never be crossed by 
.steam power, that a vessel could not be constructed of sufficient capacity to 
hold the fuel necessary for so long a voyage. He had hardly recorded his 
prediction when a steam vessel came puffing into the harbor from dLStant 
Europe. So wonderful is the invention of the age that this long journey 
has been accomplished in six days. Wooden vessels which have been used 
since the day that Noah built the ark have given place to those of steel and 
iron. Poor John Fitch a hundred years ago, invented the first boat to be 
propelled by "fire and steam." Unable to obtain assistance in Europe or 
America to utilize his invention, he left the abodes of civilization, sought a 
refuge in the forests of Kentucky where he committed suicide and was 
burried in a grave unmarked by a single stone, while Robert Fulton acquired 
fame and fortune, which belonged of right to John Fitch. 

This is a fit illustration that the world's benefactors seldom enjoy the 

fruits of their toil, ingenuity and skill. 

The improvements, changes and progress of the century are not con- 
fined to any one or any hundred departments, but they embrace everything 
which relates to the advancement and progress of human society. The arts 
of peace and of war, and the fine arts as well, have undergone a complete 

revolution. , ,, j r i „„a im 

A few illustrations will suggest a thousand equally wonderlul and im- 
portant. The improvements in the printing press within the century have 
resulted in deluging the world with papers, magazines and books. Ben 
Franklin could by hard labor turn off 250 papers printed on one side in an 
hour now by the aid of steam. Hoe's press will print 20,000 in the same time. 
It may be truthfully said "of making of books there is no end." The flmt lock 
rifle or musket with its ramrod and the accompanying powder horn ^and 
bullet pouch, which hung upon the cabin wall of our fathers has given place 
to the breech loader, with the percussion cap and cartridge. The revolver, 
the gatling gun, the shell and dynamite and the torpedo were unknown a. 
hundred years ago. 




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THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. Iiy 

No less marvelous are the changes in the fine arts. 

When our fathers would procure a likeness of one they loved they em- 
ployed a limner who after da\s of skilled and patient labor would produce a 
picture, which aided by the imagination resembled the original. Now the 
sun in the heavens is summoned to transfer to a delicately prepared plate 
every linement of the contenance, to be thence multiplied a thousand fold. 
Now every cabin in the land has its picture gallery. Here is found the 
greyhairs and wrinkles of old age, the freshness and beauty of matured man- 
hood and womanhood, and the dimples on the cheek of childhood all faith- 
fully delineated. By the phonograph the speech of a Clay or the song of a 
Kellog, with every tone or modulation of the voice is recorded, and repro- 
duced at will in all future time. 

But why attempt to enumerate the inventions, and discoveries of the 
century. The hundred thousand models in the patent office representing 
the triumphs of inventive genius, embracing every calling and pursuit, 
proves the futility of any such attempt. 

This is pre-eminently a fast age. The ordinary processes of nature are 
too slow to satisfy the restless spirit of the people. Even hens are 
wasting their time sitting three weeks on a dozen eggs. Incubators have 
been invented to hatch 500 at a time and it is said that artificial eggs are 
now made superior to the ht- n fruit. 

We refer to these instances only to suggest trains of thought, that our 
hearers may understand and work out for themselves the problems of the 
century. 

It is a source of great satisfaction and gratifying to our pride that a 
large majority of the important discoveries and inventions are American. 

Some twenty years ago I was on a fast train of cars between L,iverpool 
and London. In the same compartment was Sir Robert Briscoe one of the 
oldest and the most distinguished Baronets of England whose very pleasant 
acquaintance I had previously made. 

He spoke in glowing terms of the wonderful achievements of American 
genius and enterprise, and of how proud he was that America was the 
daughter of Great Britain. But said the eminent statesman, the mother 
ta.<es precedence of her daughter in some things. I replied that may be 
true Sir Robert but to what do you refer. He said, "in machinery our 
skilled workmen outrank all others in the world. I remarked that I had 
seen in Europe mowing and reaping machines, sewing and knitting machines 
but they were all American. But said he, look at our locomotives, the works 
of oar skilled mechanics we send them to all parts of the world. He heard 
from me with apparent incredulity that I had seen upon an English R. R. a 
locomotive labeled Patterson, N. J. When we stopped for a few moments 
midway on our journey I asked an Engineer if he had ever seen an Ameri- 
can locomotive in England. Oh yes he replied, the one drawing this train 
was made in the United States. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. II 9 

Sir Robert asked why it had been brought here. The Engineer prompt- 
ly answered, they make better locomotives in the United States than we do 
in England added that the London and Great Northern Railway had re" 
centiy ordered fifteen from Philadelphia. 

Sir Robert bowed to me verj' low remarking "I beg that you will never 
mention it." I was so elated at my victory that I boasted of Philadelphia as 
my home, although I resided 600 miles away. 

I know that my hearers will indulge me in some reflections in reference 
to the relations our country sustains to the upward march of the race since 
1791. 

America has the proud distinction of leading the way in the struggle to 
attain a higher and better civilization. Ours is the model after which all the 
republican forms of Government have been constructed. Those who believe 
that an overruling Providence superintends and directs human affairs can 
readily recognize a divine hand in every step of human progress, whether it 
be in the physical, intellectual, moral, social or political world. May it not 
be that God kept back the knowledge of this continent from the civilized na- 
tions of the earth, on purpose, that here might be established a better form 
of government, and that the treasure house of nature might be explored, and 
its wealth brought forth to enrich and elevate the race. Civil and eclesiasti- 
cal institutions hitherto had been based upon the idea that a few were born to 
govern and the masses to serve. The Jewell truth of the divine right of man- 
hood and not of kings that like the little stone cut out of the mountain with- 
out hands was to fill tho earth came with our pilgrim Fathers to this land. 
Here God had built his loftiest mountains, had channeled his deepest rivers, 
had spread out his broadest plans, here he had laid up his richest mineral 
treasures. Here he had provided everthing with which to construct the 
noblest fabric of human government, and the most gorgeous temple of 
human freedom. 

Slavery was permitted to be established here that the two theories ot 
civilization might be tested ? Whether to attain the highest civilization man 
must be relieved from labor, and eat his bread in the sweat of a menials face, 
or whether for the most perfect development of his physical, intellectual and 
moral nature, he must imitate the example of the man of Nazarith, who said 
"my Father worketh hitherto and I work." That there might be no mis- 
taking the benefit of free educated labor, over ignorant, slave labor the hard 
and reluctant soil and cold climate of the north were assigned to the former 
while the rich Savannahs, the genial sunshine and mild temperature of the 
south were given to the latter. 

The problem was being wrought out for the benefit of all mankind and 
would have been peacefully solved when by the madness and folly of men 
in both sections, the war of civilizations was inaugurated. A wicket cruel, 
fratricidal war. The supreme ruler of the Universe who "makes the wrath 




^^«© 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 12 1 

of man to praise him and restrains the remainder of that wrath" decided ihe 
contest. There are such events in human history as ''Providential diri/n'," 
and when any great result affecting the race is to be attained some nation 
will be in travail, and in proportion to the agony and blood of the parturition 
will be the greatness and glory to the event of the human race. Our nation 
within a period of one hundred years passed through two of those providt-n- 
tial births. The war of the revolution and our civil war — both for the attain- 
ment of the same end. That all men are entitled to life and libeaty acquire, 
and enjoy property pursue and obtain happiness and safety was the issue in 
both these struggles. 

While we would not indulge in this joyous occasion in fearful forebod- 
ings we .should not shut our eyes to the fact that there are clouds in the hor- 
rizon of our glory that portend a storm, there are dangers which threaten to 
lay this noble fabric of Government in ruins. 

The great and good Lincoln who piloted our ship of state through the 
.storm when the waves of civil commotion threatened to engulph it, and who 
now occupies the highest niche in the temple of fame, and whose wonderful 
achievements will be more and more appreciated as the centuries wear away, 
saw as with a prophets vision breakers ahead. 

He said, "We may all congratulate ourselves that the cruel war is near- 
ing a close. It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood. The be.st 
blood of American 3^outh has been freely offf red upon our country's altar 
that the nation might live. It has been indeed a trying hour for the Re- 
public, but I see in the near future a crisis arising that unnerves me and 
causes me to tremble for the safety of ray country. As a result of the Avar 
corporrtions have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high planes will 
follow, and the money power ot the country will endeavor to prolong its 
reign by working up the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggre- 
gated in few hands and the republic is destroyed I frel at this moment 
more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before in the midst of 
the war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless." 

Such were the words of the patriot and seer. 

The rapid accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few and the 
equally rapid pauperization of the many by ill advised legislation may invite 
a conflict between capital and labor. 

When the fact is stated that 30,000 persons are worth more than 60,000- 
000 we can account for the fear and trembling of the sainted patriot. We 
unite our petition with his that this threatened cup of sorrow m .y pass from 
us. If this nation the favorite child of Providence shall be called again to 
wade through a sea of blood, and pass through Gethsemanee's agony, we 
have a christian faith, that it will not only .suruive but take a higher position 
among the nations of the earth. Ours shall be the Mesiah of nations lead- 
ing them all up to greater heights of national glory, where humanity shall 




REV. EDWARD W. ABBEY. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 1 23 

build her homes, science her temple, justice her shriners and religion^of 
righteousness her altars. 

The fifteen minutes allowed me are more than exhausted, and the events 
of the world in the last century remain unenumerated because every day^of 
the one hundred years has been freighted with them. 



THE FUTUJ^E. 

BY REV. E. W. ABBEY. 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : 

WHO could have stood one hundred years ago, at the newly located fort 
on the banks of the Miami, and have predicted the present city of 
Hamilton, with its 20,000 population, its steaming factories, its busy stores, 
its comfortable homes, its prosperous schools and churches? Who, then, 
could have prophesied the Ohio that now is; and the galaxy of forty four 
United States, the most prosperous and mightiest nation on the globe ? 
Who, then, could have dreamed of the present industrial and social and 
moral condition of the world. These addresses, warranting the historical 
facts, that we have heard tonight, had they been spoken one hundred years 
ago as prophecies, would have been accounted the wildest of phantasies. 

But the undreamed of development has taken place. Here are the facts. 
And now what of the future? What will the coming century reveal? I am 
neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, yet it is made my duty in com- 
pleting the logical order of addresses of this occasion, to speak prophetically. 
And I shall be a prophet, not of evil, but of good ; not of despondency, but 
of hope. I see no setting sun, but a rising sun. I see in the future not 
only new inventions in mechanics, but new inventions for disseminating 
knowledge; not only increased industrial powers, but increase of moral 
force ; not only improvement in commercial agencies, but improvement in 
social and moral condition. 

It called for unusual faith one hundred years ago to prophesy good 
things for this land. The best men had scarcely any clear and hopeful out- 
look for the future. But we have this most remarkable history behind us, 
through all of which we see the mighty march of agencies, which have not 
only leveled forests, and plowed prairies, and tunneled mountains, and built 
cities, and heaped up wealth, but have quite as well torn down abuses that 
cursed mankind, and have produced a happier social and better moral con- 
dition. 



THK CRNTKNNIAT. ANXIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 125 

But I am not to make a comparison of the past and present, only so far 
:as the facts of the present, in their relation to the past, reveal what we may 
reasonably expect to see evolved in the future. 

This city of Hamilton will expand on every side, and presently be a city 
of 50,000 population ; our manufacturing industries will presently demand 
the work of ten-fold the number of hands now employed ; beautiful parks 
will adorn our streets, and handsome residences will crown our surrounding 
hill-tops ; that in every respect, the material prosperity of this city will be all 
that can be desired for enriching her citizens. This same prosperity will be 
experienced by the whole land, and by all the sisterhood of nations. The 
future has wrapped up within its unopened leaves the beauty of hoped for 
things and the sweet fr£.grance of a better social condition for mankind 
Our prophesy is guided by a considerstion of those forces, which operate 
with the authority of inviolable law in determining the events of the succeed- 
ing years. 

Hamilton is no city walled in from the busy world about us ; nor is 
America a nation with doors closed to other continents. We enter the cen- 
tury with the channels of communication .such as to bring all men, the world 
over, into such close contact, that each individual will be quickly affected by 
what occurs in any quarter of the globe. The railroad, the .steamship, the 
telegraph, constitute the nerve -.system of the world. Nothing hereafter can 
be done in a corner. Nothing in the coming years, will be too far away to 
escape detection. By this great nerve-.system all humanity, all the races of 
men will be united in brotherhood. Before the .sun of any dav sets, the 
thought of one man will become the thought of all mankind ; the deed of 
one man will l^e .scrutinized by all men the world over; the wheat-field on 
yonder hillside will as readily be baked into bread in a Chmese or English 
oven, as in an American ; the boy or girl graduating from the Hamilton High 
School will anticipate doing his life-work as a teacher in a Japanese College 
or a Syrian vSchool, or an African vStation, as in his own native state. Reci- 
procity is the great underlying fact of the world today, and the coming cen- 
tury will experience the larger unfolding of the forces, industrial and social 
which have now appeared. 

No person weighing the significense of the facts detailed in these his- 
torical addre.sses. and estimating the potency of the coming allegorical pro- 
cession on the morrow, can doubt whether the .sun is rising or .'-etting upon 
our world. Every year is decking itself with greater glory ; every year is 
illuminating the continents with new visions of hope ; every year is realizing 
new experiences of freedom, and justice and fraternity. A profound ob- 
.server of current events recently deceased, seeing the clear evidences of 
human advancement, and the great strides of progress crowding on with 
rapid footsteps, was accustomed to .say, that he would like to live a hundred 
years longer, that he might participate in the glories of the grand advancing 
era. 




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THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OP HAMILTON, O. 12/ 

It is not altogether Strange, however, that there should be prophets of 
€vil among us. They have detected the dark spots on the face of the sun, 
and with microscopic vision they persist in confirming their view to them 
blind to the larger fact of the warmth and light of the glorious luminary. 
There aje dangers ahead of us, which we do clearly forsee. There is bitter 
inequality of social condition ; there are grinding despotisms, there are evils 
and abuses perpetuated by evil and strong hands. Inventions multiply, 
science implores, art is cultivated, the means of comfort increased, philan- 
thropy extends a well-filled hand elemasanary institutions open wide doors, 
religion ofi"ers a comforting hope ; but with it all, want remains, muscles and 
brains are taxed to their utmost for daily bread, temptation lurks in a thous- 
and places, spacious forms of evil seek to undermine whatever is good. 

Many shadows and much poisonous malaria linger on the low lands, yet 
we do not behold the sun of righteousness and equity rising high above the 
horizon, moving on toward the zenith, filling the future full to overflowing 
with the promise of glory to purify and sweeten all the habitations of man. 
Our poets see this with clear eyes, when they sing of the "world and all the 
wonders that shall be." We see it in the reasonable signs of the times, as 
well as the prophecies ot our God. 

In spite, therefore, of all the spectres of darkness, which still walk our 
earth, we make no apology for our gladness and our hopefulness on this 
centennial occasion. A broad and judicious generalization leaves no room 
for pessimism. We do not fail to see that our civilization, with all its 
achievements, has still its under side of terrible menace, just as in ancient 
Athens, th* cave of Turies was underneath the rock on whose top sat the 
Court of the Areopagus. But we do not forsee ruin ; we do not fear disaster. 
We do see trouble, and that much must be done in the coming years. The 
furies will not be kept chained in their cave and exterminated without vast 
effort. Heavy duties and arderous toils lie in the future. Stern battles will 
be fought, and they will be fought successfully. Over every storm cloud we 
see the bright bow of promise irritating the coming years. 

Let us specify a Httle. War with its horrors, is one of the dreadest af- 
flictions of earth. Are wars to continue ? We commemorate the locating of 
a fort — Fort Hamilton, one hundred years ago. That was a time of gen- 
eral war. Kurope was in convulsions. American settlements were in con- 
stant dread of warlike Indians. Soldiers and forts were a necessity. 

But as the last century has seen a radical change in the character of 
war from preceding centuries, so will the coming century see wars pass away 
altogether. Formerly wars were for mere aggrandisement, or for the suc- 
cession of reigning dynasties. With the present century came wars for 
human rights, marking advance of popular liberty. Revolution has filled 
the air. Despotisms gave way to written constitutions. In many cases 
auonarchies have given way to republics. 



THR CENTENNIAL ANNIVKK.SAKY OF HAMII/fON, O. 129 

National sentiment causes the greatest despotisms to bow to its will, 
and kings plead at the bar of public opinion. These results have been 
achieved through war, which, while thus a necessary evil, has been an agency 
of wildest good. And now war is passing away. 

But you will .say that the heart of Europe is one vast military encamp- 
ment, and that America is different only because the Atlantic ocean rolls be- 
tween us and the politics of the Ivastern hemisphere. Does not this contra- 
dict our prophesy ? The cry from the heart of the nations is Disartu. And 
they will di.sarm ; and that before long. This is our prophesy. For a little 
while longer, armaments may be increased ; and the enormous waste be 
borne. There may be the mighty meeting of armies. The earth will 
tremble under the shock. Then there will be a .settlement. Then, at far- 
therest, these armies of the earth will di.sband ; and the Ivastern Hemisphere 
will be even as our beloved America. The curtain will drop upon that act 
in the drama of human progress; and the final scene will open, that of arbi- 
tration of differences among nations. This is the profound sentiment with 
which we enter the coming century. The future wilU show that permanent 
relations of confidence, respect and Iriendshij) can subsist between nations 
with only an international court of arbitration. This is the promise of the 
World's Redeemer ; and the Prince of Peace will ascend His throne. The 
fort will give place to the peaceful city ; its armament of spear and sword 
will be removed to give place to the factory for the plow and pruning knife. 

"Inequality of social condition," is a familiar term, which expresses one 
of the bitterest facts of human experience, as well as one of the most trouble- 
some problems of thoughtful men. Classes of men are douljtless wider apart 
today than they were a hundred years ago. Is the unequal condition in- 
creasing? Will it be greater in the future? 

No ; the chasm will be bridged. The peculiar development of the cen- 
tury in material indu.stries have made this a peculiar experience. The 
present type of our civilization is intensely materialistic. The century was 
cradeled amidst inventions and discoveries, whose special work has been to 
subjugate nature. New sciences, newly applied from day to day, have made 
land and sea vastly move productive than they were. Machinery has mul- 
tiplied the working force of the world a thousand fold. The result is rapid 
and vast accumulation of wealth, of whose general benefits all men partake 
in an improved social condition, but which is not distributed in an equitable 
way. 

But we do not fear for the future social condition. Much patience will 
be required from all classes, A way out will be found. It offends the first 
sense of human brotherhood, that children of the same family should be so 
wide apart in their fortunes. The chasm between social conditions will 
never be completely filled. We need look for no relization of any such com- 
munistic dream. But the chasm will be bridged. Labor and capital 




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V 




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THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I3I 

will come to understand better their interdependence, and public sentiment 
will see that justice and equity prevail. They will meet as Esau and Jacob 
amid the mountains of Gilead to be reconciled. Each may be selfish, but 
they will not destroy each other, and they will remember that they are 
brothers. Already we see signs of the improving condition. The tide has 
changed. We enter the century with a diminishing inequality in social con- 
dition ; and, best of all, with those intelligent forces at work which promise 
most certainly to make the future a time of plenty and of comfort for all. 

Our hope for the future is not lessened, when we consider the educa- 
tional methods and institutions of the coming years. Our public schools are 
our pride. These guard us from that illiteracy, which is the necessary de- 
pendence of superstition and despotism. An immeasurable mass of ig- 
norance and superstition pours upon us from other lands and we sometimes 
grow faint hearted for our future ; but we thank God and take courage in 
the fact, that "children of all nations of the earth go into our common 
schools, and come out Americans." 

We know there are threats against our public school system. We are 
not blind to the fact, that it is assailed by insideous methods and political 
deals. But our common school system was never dearer to the heart of the 
people than now ; and under no ignorant plea, that children must 
work at home or in the shop, and under no mask of devotion to liberty 
of conscience will we allow these nurseries of liberty and enlightenment to 
be tampered with. There are dangers, which call for the utmost watchful- 
ness, and that we guard with sleepless vigilance the common schools, the 
school funds, and the constitutional rights of all children in America, 
whether native or foreign born, to enjoy the advantages, and the American 
training; of these schools. The future must see our common schools not 
only open, but actually patronized by all our children, under the most 
effective compul.'jary laws. Enlightened, liberty-loving American Citizens 
must be trained in American Schools. Herein, more than multiplying our 
industrial agencies, lies the security of our future advancement, and the 
character of the nation. All children, who aspire to the high privileges and 
duties of American citizenship must be required by American law to receive 
the training of her public schools. 

But more important than all else is the question concerning our future 
moral and religions condition. In the presence of prevalent immoralities and 
infidelity, some despair of the future. We refu.se to sympathise with that 
sentiment. The signs of the times are altogether favorable. History has 
no record of a day, when the moral and religious facts have been so glorious 
as they are today, and when the signs have been so hopeful for the future. 

No one can wisely discuss this subject at the close of the nineteenth 
'Century, as it was generally discussed in former years. Every movement 
tnow in morals, as well as in mechanics, has a world wide significance. No 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 135:. 

one lives to day where his father did, and no one thinks along the lines his 
father did. The stroke of a piston, a new thing in history, has brought 
about fraternity, and diffuse knowledge, liberty and religion over all the 
earth. The Englishman resides in India ; the American makes his home in 
China ; the Chinaman dwells in America ; the German" settles down in 
Africa ; and they all transplant new ideas in their new homes. Old walls 
are broken down. Until this present century, there was little travel. Men 
lived in isolated communities. A river or a mountain secluded tribes and 
nations. A foreignor was a sight for a gaping crowd ; a resident of the next 
town was unknown ; a stranger was not only suspected, he was an enemy. 

Under such conditions, a nation necessarily had one settled order of 
thought ; one marked, unchanged moral character for generations ; one es- 
tablished religious dogma for centuries. Every community had its homog- 
enous life, socially and morally. 

Mark now the changed conditions. Everybody- has traveled ; every- 
body has crossed the seas and the continents. The term 'stranger" can 
almost be marked obsolete in our dictionaries. Everybodies opinions, both 
in the Occident and the orient, are published, translated, read. Awakening 
of intellect is the result ; a questioning of traditional beliefs follows; change 
reconstruction is the outcome. The furnace waxes hot ; from the seething 
mass, we behold poisonous vapors exhaling and leaving the earth forever ; 
and in the residuum we behold the refined gold of purified moral condition 
and religious faith ; — not alone for America and Europe, but for Asia and 
Africa and the Islands of the sea. As in the vision of the Christian Apostle, 
we behold the city of God, adorned as a bride, in beautiful garments, descend- 
ing upon the earth. It is no "far-off, divine event ; " it is near. 

If ever there were a happy, pure condition of life upon this earth since 
Eden's gate closed, it was at most in .some little Acadian valley, secluded 
from the great warring, illiterate, brutal world. 

It rt quires no fanciful dreamer to see, that the world is already within 
the dawn of an improved moral condition and true religious faith. It re- 
quires no inspiration of prophet to foretell this. The spiritual forces at work 
demonstrate it, — these spiritual forces of the Christian religion, which now 
walk abroad among the habitations of all mankind. The past has seen no 
golden era ; the future will see it. The scale has changed. We move into 
the century with our statesmen and merchants recognizing that the Christian 
religion is the best aid of secular improvement, and the surest hope of world 
wide prosperity. In the face of appalling difilculties, the Christian Church 
has not only maintained herself, but increased in a ratio nearly six fold 
faster than the increase of our popalation. Where there was but one mem- 
ber of the Evangelical church a hundred years ago to each twenty-eight of 
population, now there is one to each five ; where there were divided denom- 
inations with bitter antagonisms, now there is true fraternity of spirit, and. 




JUDGE JOSEPH COX. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 13,5, 

growing unity in organic life ; while the scriptures are being planted on 
former foundations as the very inspired revelation of God, there is revision 
of creeds, bringing the church's statement of doctrinal beliefs into accord 
with her best spirit and life of missionaries have been sent into the pagan 
world, and tens of millions of dollars have been voluntarily contributed for 
this work, and numbers and amounts are greater this year than ever. The 
future means increase. Applied Christianity is what the world waits for, and 
the century before us will feel its increased spiritual power. We fear naught. 
A spreading Christianity with its multiplied moral and philanthropic 
agencies, will make all mankind sharers with us of the blessings of the 
Divine Father, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Temporary reactions 
will not stop the mighty current. Progress, materially, socially, morally, re- 
ligiously, will be vastly accelerated. Opulent cities will fill our land ; ag- 
riculture will cover our continent, and with us countries now barbarous will 
resound with all the industry of enriching work, while school house and 
church these hopes of freemen, will fill all lands. The L,ord our God shall 
be with us, and all nations shall be blessed in him ; blessed be His glorious 
name forever, — the whole earth shall be filled with His glory. 



73:DDReSS 

BY JUDGE JOSEPH cox. 

Mr. Chairman Ladies and Gentlemen: 

FIFTY-SIX years ago one of Ohio's most distinguished sons, Hon. Thomas- 
Ewing, being invited by a committee of the native citizens of Hamil- 
ton to attend a celebration of the anniversary of Fort Hamilton, replied, "I 
like the spirit evinced by the native sons of the West in meeting to- 
gether to celebrate, and thus keep in remembrance those days which form 
important epochs in the history of our native land. "// is time zve should feel 
we are a people and have a history^ I would repeat this today with all the 
emphasis that the additional fifty-six years of our national history has added 
to our national glory, in that we have forty-seven states now, instead of only 
twenty-six then, our population increased from fifteen millions to more than 
sixty-four millions, and our possessors cover a continent from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific ocean, more than one-eighth the distance round the world. 

Yes, we are a people today, known and honored among all the nations 
of the earth, and we have a history of which any nation would be proud; 
one of which this spot forms an interesting part. A history we should 



THE CENTENNIAl"anN1VERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. \-^j 

teach to our children, as the Jews of Old were commanded by God in regard 
to their great deliverence from the power of Pharaoh, "when we sit in our 
houses, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up, 
that the generation to come^may know them. The building of Fort Hamil- 
ton a century ago, was no ordinary or trifling matter. 

It was a necessary factor in the struggle of man to maintain the right 
to govern htmselfandto shape his^own destiny; a struggle reaching back 
beyond that of the English people to wrest the principles of Magna Charta 
from King John at Runnymede. Asserted bv our Pilgrim Fathers at Leyden 
and Plymouth Rock; died for.'at Uxington, Concord and Bunker Hill- most 
emphatically proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, and reasserted 
amid the blood and fire of battle for seven long years thereafter, until an 
apparejti surrender was made by the British at Yorktown, and our nation 
became Independent. I say an apparent surrender by the British government 
For although that government, then and there, ceased to fight us by her 
acknowledged armed forces, and recognized our independence, she yet 
covertly by means of ammunition and arms furnished by the traders and 
Canadian and Indian allies, kept up all the horrors of war with Indian 
atrocities, until the treaty of 1795. made by Gen. Anthony Wayne with the 
Indians at Greenville, after he had completely broken their power by the 
victory of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794; and the war was until then 
merely a continuation of the war of Independence. The part taken bv the 
diff-erent Indian tribes in various wars, as coadjutors of the French and 
Knghsh, forms one of the most interesting and at the same time most mel- 
ancholy and tragical episodes in our history. Anxious to preserve the title 
and possession of the land, each tribe united and fought with the forces of 
that country which promised the most favorable advantages to them and 
seemed for the time being, most able to fulfill its promises. In the war 
between the French and English beginning in 1755, when the English had 
control of the eastern part of the continent and claimed that bordering on 
the Ohio and Allegheny river, the powerful six nations leaving their homes 
in New York and other eastern parts of the land, .sided with the English 
while the numerous other tribes in the Northwest took part with the French 
and it was they who contributed to the defeat of Braddock's forces and so 
long kept the supremacy in the Allegheny country and held Fort DuQuesne 
afterward Fort Pitt. 

But the peace of Paris in 1793 ended the war then between England 
and France, France ceding her entire dominions in North America to 
England. And now it was supposed that there would be peace with the 
Indians, but this was followed by a year of most bloody war and the destruc- 
tion of her frontier posts. A treaty of peace was at length eff-ected with 
the Indians, but this was violated.by them, and they continued their depre- 
dations on the western parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia ; and so it con- 



THE CENTl^NMAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON O. I39 

tinued until 1775 when Great Britain determining to subjugate the Colonies 
and more effectually compel them to submit to her arbitrary and unjust 
laws, the colonies rose in resistance. War ensued, and Great Britain 
by the influence of her traders, large donations and larger promises, engaged 
all the Indians of the Northwest on her side, to aid in devastating the 
frontiers. The Continental Congress by every means seeming feasible, en- 
deavored to appease the Indian tribes and avert the threatened calamity, and 
at a treaty held with the Delaware tribes at Pittsburg in 1778, proposed that 
a State should be formed to be composed of the Delaware's and other tribes, 
and contracted when so formed, to admit them into the confederacy on 
equal terms. But this tender of co-nationality was far outweighed in their 
eyes, by the profuse promises and gifts of arras and trinkets by the British, 
and their hostility was continued toward the Americans until the peace of 
1784 was agreed upon between the English and Americans. 

When the new government of the union was established, it claimed 
supremacy over the whole territory which before had been claimed by the 
French and British, except Canada. But this claim to that west of the Alle- 
ghenies was resisted by various tribes of Indians who set up different claims 
to different parts of it. By treaty and purchase at Fort Stauwix in New 
York in 1784 between the United States represented by Arthur Lee, Richard 
Butler and Oliver Wolcott and the six nations with the Wyandots and Dela- 
wares, Indian title ia Pennsylvania was extinguished. Afterwards in 
1785, Mr. Lee together with George Rogers Clark made a treaty at Fort 
Mcintosh ; the nations represented were the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippe- 
ways and Ottoways. By this treaty the boundary line between the United 
States and the Delawares and Wyandots was fixed, beginning at the mouth 
of the Cuyahoga River (near Cleveland) running up that river to the portage 
between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum, thence down 
that branch to the forks at the crossing above Fort Lawrence. 

Thence westwardly to the portage of the big Miami, thence down the 
southwardly side of the Maumee river to its mouth, thence along the south 
shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga where it began ; saving 
and reserving to the United States six miles square at the mouth of the 
Maumee and the same at the portage of the Big Miami (near Fort Wayne, 
Indiana) the same at Sandusky, and two miles square on each side of the 
Rapids of the Sandusky and also the port of Detroit from the mouth of the 
River Racine six miles up the south bank of the river, six miles northwest 
and six miles west until it strikes Lake St. Clair at the port of Michele 
Mackinack and twelve miles square above the lake. Thus giving to the In. 
dian all right to settle and hunt on lands north of a boundary running from 
a line drawn from the Cuyahoga River to Sandusky, then to the rapids of the 
Maumee, then west to Fort Wayne, then up the Maumee river. Then along 
the south margin of the lake to Cuyahoga River, reserving lands at the 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I41 

mouth of the Sandusky and rapids of Sandusky, and all south of that being 
surrendered by the Indians to the United States. 

On the 31st of January 1776, another treaty was made at Fort Finney, 
-on the Ohio River near the mouth of the Great Miami River, between George 
Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Samuel H. Parsons, commissioners of the 
United States and the Delawares, Wyandots and Shawanees by which the 
Shawanees acknowledged the United States to be the sole and absolute 
sovereign of all the territory ceded to them by the treaty of Peace between 
them and the kings of Great Britain January 15, 1784. 

The Wabash Indians were not at this treaty growing out of a spirit of 
hostility among the savages fostered by the English sub-agents who were 
opposed to any treaty. 

Those Indians who had not come in to sign the treaty were not disposed 
to cease hostilities and Congress on the application of the Governor oi Virginia 
at once sent two companies down to the falls of the Ohio to protect the in- 
habitants ; and on the 30th ot June authorized the raising of militia in Ken- 
tucky and the invasion of the country of the hostiles under command of a 
United States officer, and before winter a thousand men gathered at the falls 
under command of Gen. George Rogers Clark and marched to Vincennes on 
the Wabash. Here they remained inactive nine days waiting the arrival of 
provisions when becoming restive and losing confidence in the General 
whose mind seemed confined by some disability, they refused obedience to 
liim and returned home. 

Subsequently another expedition under General Logan marched against 
the Shawnees who had violated the treaty, wasted their crops and burned 
their towns. 

Thus it will be seen that for years the United vStates had been continu- 
ally engaged in making treaties with the Indians, only to be broken. 

A close examination of the history and title of the Indians to the North- 
western territory, I think will convince any unpredjudiced mind that none 
of them had any title or claim whatever to it, except such as they obtained 
it by the massacre of a weaker tribe which had no other titled than that of 
a squat -.er, a title which they were afraid to assert against a stronger and 
more warlike title, and so the whole extent of the territory was used as 
hunting and fishing grounds as by common consent, the only bond of 
union among them being when they united to resist the occupancy of the 
territory by the whites. The title of the United States was good without 
any treaty with the Indians. 

In the meantime other complications of a most interesting and import- 
ant character had taken place. Spain had in 1780 asserted her determination 
to claim control of the Mississippi River, had attacked Fort St. Joseph and 
taken it and possession of the northwest in the naraeof her king. On the 15th 



THK CKNTIWNIAL ANNI V1<;KSAKY OI'" HAMILTON, O. 142' 

of I'^cbriiary i7<Si, Congress iiistrnctcd Mr. Jay tlie vSecretary of Foreign Af- 
fairs at Madrid nol to insist on the use of the Missi])j)i I^iver l)y America if a 
treaty could not be affected without giving it u\y, and tliroiigh tlie year 1782 
vSpain backed by iM'ance, labored not only to induce the United .States to give 
up the Mississippi River, but a great part of the west. 

In 1785 Don Diego C/ardo(|ui as a representative of Spain appeared be- 
fore Congress and Mr. Jay as vSecretary of I'oreign Affairs and was author 
ized to negoliate, and negotiations were commenced 

Mr. Jay had asked sj)ecial instruction of Congress, as while he urged 
the great importance of a commercial treaty with .Spain, yet he was strongly 
opposed to surrendering the navigation of the Mississi])pi River to her, and 
the Spanish Ambassador said Spain would never surrender the right to ab- 
solute contiol over it. Mr. Jay then proposed making a treaty for twenty- 
five or thirty years and during that time (without al)andoning our claim,) 
yielding the use of the river to vS[)ain below the boundary of the United 
States. 'I'll is was bilteily op])osed in Congress, but the opponents were 
overtlinnvii and Mr. Jay authorized to continue the negotiations without in- 
sisting on the iminediate right to the river. But Mr. Jay would not consent 
to surrendering our right exclaiiiiing, "poor as 7i'r air, V( I I know wc shall 
he rich : f looiild rallier oorrr iviili Spain lo hiiy at a jasl prJK I he ivholc of Jicr 
n'i^h/ Id the !\/ississippi Rivi r , /haii sell, a d) op of its iva/ri'. . I iir/ohhof ni/'i^ht 
as "tVi'll ask nic to sell my si reel dooiy 

Franklin wrote to say ".Spain has taken four years t(^ consider whether 
she will treat with us or not : gi\e her forty and hi us in Un iiieaiiliiiu mind 
our 07C)i l>Hsii/essy 

During these attempts at negotiations the wildest excitement prevaded 
the whole west. The j-eople were determined that the right to navigate the 
Mississippi should never be surrendered to Spain or any other nation. Under 
the direction (jf Gen. Clark it was determined to garrison Vinctnnes; Spani.sh 
property was seized ; sf)ldiers enrolled and steps taken to hold a y^^-a^^' council 
with .ill the Indian tribes. 

A circular addressed to Congress, embodying the views of the peo])le 
and their determination was distributed. "It declared our situation is as bad 
as can be; tlieref(jre every exertion to retrieve our circumstances must ht 
manly, eli^ihle and /nsl^ 

We can raise twenty thousand troops this side of the Allegheny and 
Apalachean mountains, and the- annual increas.> of them by emigrants frcun 
other ])arts, is from two to four thousand. We have taken all the goods be- 
longing to the Spanish mercliants of Port Vincennes and the Illinois, and 
determined they shall not trade ap the river, provided they will not let us 
trade do7cn it. Preparations are now making here (if necessary) to drive the 
Spanish from their settlements at the mouth of the Mississippi. In ca.se we 
are not countenanced and succored bv the United vStates (if we need it) 



TIIK CKNTKNNIAr. ANNIVKKSARY f)K HAMILTON, O. I43 

■our allegiance -icill he //ixnoi oJJ, and some oilier i)o\vc'r a])i)li(,(l lo. C.reat 
Britain stands ready with open arms to receive and sui)i)()rt us. They have 
already offered to open their resources for our sni)plies. When once united 
to ihese relations, farewell, a long farewell to your boasted greatness." "The 
Province of Canada, and the inhabitants of these waters, will be al)le to 
concpier you." 

Vou areas ignorant of tiiis couutr\' as C.reat I'ritain wis of AuKTic-a. 
These are hints, which if rightly improved, ma\' be of some service ; if not 
blame yourselves for it." 

On the 26th of April i7."^7 Congress disavowed the- taking ])ossession ol 
Vincennes and ordered the troops of the United vStates to disperse the un 
authorized intruders and take pos.session. Kentucky and Virginia having 
passed strong resolutions against giving up the right to tli'- Mississippi 
River, the people so bitterly opposing it and Jay refusnig to make a treaty 
on that ground, no further steps were taken in that regard. Hut a treaty was 
subsequently made by Washington with Spain, by which the free navigation 
of the Mississippi was securtd. 

Congress by resolution of Septend)er iMh, 177O and August i_>lh 
1780, had promised land bounties to the oflicers and soldiers of the Revf^Ui- 
ionary army who should continue in the service until the close ol the war, or 
until di.scharged by Congress. After peace had been declared in i 7.S3, Gen. 
Kufus Putnam .sent to President Washingt(Mi a memorial signed by a large 
number of Revolutionary officers and .soldiers, a.sking that their lands might 
be givtn to them out of the Northwest territory and suggested to Washing- 
ton that they would prove the most u.seful .settlers of th;it region. That as 
the Indians were yet very troublesome on the frontiers, it would be wise to 
have aline of fortifications extending from the vScioto River to the Lakes, 
and the.se manned by old and tried Revolutionary veterans would .serve the 
double purpc .se of keeping the Indians in subjection, while they them.selves 
would aid in opening up the forest to cultivation, and thus induce further in- 
crea.se of population from the Iva.st to a more ])roductive soil and climate. 
Washington in a message to Congre.ss endorsed these views. Hut as Virginia 
and other states claimed to have .some interest in the territory, Congress re- 
fused to do an> thing toward furthering the interest and wishes of the me- 
morialists until the.se claims were relinquished. At length they were sur- 
rendered, the ordinance of 17.S7 adopted, providing that slavery .should never 
exi.st in the territory nor in any state carved out of it. That morality and 
religion .should form the foundation'of the territory and states therein and 
that .schools and the means of education .shall forever be encouraged, that 
the territory might be divided into six .states, and providing for Legislative, 
Judicial and Executive officers to govern il. 

And now began in earnest the settling (jf the state. Forty eight officers 
and soldiers of the Revolutionary war who had served with honor during the 



^: ' ir^tJ _^, 




LANE FREE LIBRARY. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I45 

war, marched over the mountains, took flatboats on the Ohio River rnd on 
the jth of April 1788, landed at Marietta and proceeded to build fortifica- 
tions for their protection, and homes in which to live, and adopted rules for 
their goverment until suitable officers should arrive. 

As Governor of the new territory President Washington appointed Gen. 
Arthur St. Clair, a man in every way qualified for the position. Born at 
Thurso, in Carthness, Scotland in the year 1734, educated at the University 
at Edinburgh, studying the science of medicine under the fcrmous physician 
Dr. William Hunter of London, his tastes yet lead him to that o! arms. He 
became an ensign in the British army and in 1788 arrived at Amherst before 
Louisburg. There with Wolfe Moncton, Murray and Laurens he found his 
youthful ardor stirred to deeds of heroism, and for his part in the affair at 
Louisburg, a lieutenant's commission was issued to him and he assigned to 
the command of Gen. Wolfe who had been selected to reduce Quebec. On 
the 13th of September 1759, on the Plains of Abraham was decided the fate 
of the French nation in America and the thrilling history of that battle has 
embalmed in history, among the bravest of the brave, both the opposing 
leaders Wolfe and Montcton. In the fatal struggle on the Plain, Lieut. St. 
Clair seized the colors which had fallen from the hands of a dying soldier 
and bore them until the field was won by the British. vSt. Clair was in all 
the struggles and privations of the war until the French capitulated Sept. 8, 
1760. 

He then obtained a furlough, came to Boston, married Miss Phoebe 
Bayard an accomplished lady who brought as her marriage portion $70,000 
and this with his own savings made him a wealthy man. Resigning his com- 
mission in the army, he moved to the Lagonia Valley in western Pennsyl- 
vania where he had a large tract of land, erected a fine lesidence and a grist 
mill, the first one in the valley, and entered actively into the duties of civil 
life in opening up and improving that most beautiful valley. He was appoint- 
ed surveyor for the districc of Cumberland, Justice of the Court of Quarter 
Sessions, and Common Pleas'member of the Governors Council. 

When the differences arose between G:eat Britain and the Colonists, he 
at once espoused the side of the latter. Congress issue to him the commission 
of Colonel, and President Hancock addressed him a letter pressing him to 
come at once to Phiiadelphia and take his command. Although surrounded 
as he was with affluence, a rising and happy family, he at once bade them 
adieu and obeyed the summons, saying : ''I hold that no man has a right to 
withhold his services when his country needs them. Be the sacrifice ever so 
great it must be yielded up on the altar of his country." 

It would be interesting, had I time to follow in detail the various events 
in the life of St. Clair. He was in nearly all the battles of the Revolution 
side by side with Washington, rose rapidly to the post of Major General for 
meritorious services, honored by the warm friendship of Washington which 



146 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

he never lost; a friend and assistant of Lafayette, President of the Continental 
Congress. Handsome in lorm, dignified in bearing, he was a national leader 
winning all hearts. He was brave in battle and fertile in resources. His 
character is well illustrated by an incident. When our army was in the dead 
of winter at night pressing on the attack of Princeton, one of the officers 
rode up and informed him that the guns ot his command could not be fired 
because their powder was all wet, and inquired of the General what he 
should do, ''Phs/i on ayid charge bayonets''' was the ready response. 

By accepting the Governorship of the Northwestern territory he sacri- 
ficed his fortune, the comforts of his home and brilliant political prospects 
there. He arrived at Marietta on the 9th of July 1788 and organized the 
new territory in September. 

Judge John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey, who had been a delegate in 
Congress and was now Chief Justice of that state made application to the 
Government in August 1787 for the purchase of a large body of lands lying 
at the mouth of the Big Miami, thence up the Ohio to the mouth of the 
Little Miami so as to include a million of acres, and after repeated negotia- 
tions supposing his contrast closed, he started for the new purchase in July 
1788, with a train of fourteen four-horse wagons and sixty persons to seek 
locations. He came over the Allegheny mountains and by way of Pittsburgh 
and Wheeling in flatboats, stopping a brief time at Marietta to confer with 
the inhabitants there and then came down the river to the mouth of the 
Little Miami River and exploring the interior of the country afterwards 
settled at North Bend sixteen miles below Cincinnati. 

On the 28th of December 1788, Isreal Ludlow, Matthias Denman, Rob- 
ert Patterson, Joel Williams and twenty-three others amid floating ice that 
covered the river from shore to shore landed at Cincinnati and proceeded to 
lay out and survey the town. 

In the meantime the Indians became very restive under the now appa- 
rent determination of the whites to make large and permanent settlements in 
the territory. 

So far as history records there had not at auj' time been in Ohio or Ken- 
tucky before that any large or permanent settlements of Indians below a line 
drawn from Erie, Pennsylvania through where Cleveland now is, through 
Sandusky, and below Fort Meigs on the Maumee River to Fort Wayne and 
then to Chicago. The country below was a hunting and fishing ground, claim- 
ed by several tribes as I have before said, but each fearing to risk the ven- 
gence of the others by taking exclusive possession. The small settlements 
on the Miamis, Scioto and Muskingum rivers and at Wapokonetta, Laramie 
and other points seemed more like sentinel posts, to watch the encoachments 
of other tribes or that of the whites. 

The chief headquarters of the various tribes were along the lakes and 
especially so after the treaty of 1 788 restricting them within their boundaries. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 147 

At the junction of the Auglaize and St. Mary's now Defiance, they had a 
large village; seven large villages between that and the neighborhood of 
Fort Wayne the Capital, where was the Great Miami villages at the junction 
of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph Rivers. Their lines of fortification were 
established at everv important point, and these were their permanent habi- 
tations, drawing supplies of ammunition and other necessaries from the St. 
I awrence River at Oucbeck or Montreal, and from the French or English 
as each had control^ Thence they sallied Hast, South and West down ihe 
various streams, and by portages across the land from one river to another 
down the various streams leading to the Ohio and Mississippi River when 
going on the expeditions of war or the chase, and thither as to a citadel they 
returned bringing back the trophies of the war or the chase. 

From these strong holds they sent out predatory bauds to attack all the 
settlements in Ohio, and to prevent its permanent occupancy by the whites 
To meet these attacks and keep the Indians in subjection, it was determmed 
by the general Government to establish a fort at the best and most convenient 
point on the Ohio River, as a basis of supply of military aid. The site was 
selected in 1789 by Capt Strong. Lieut. Kingsbury, Ensign Hartshorn, Capt. 
Ferguson and Major Doughty, who came down from Fort Harmer with 
seventy men to clear the ground and erect the h^ort. The site selected was 
opposite the mouth of the Licking at what now is the territory in Cincinnati 
bounded by Broadway and Ludlow Streets, and Third and Fourth Streets^ 
Gen St. Clair arrived Jan. 2, 1790, and named it Fort Washmgton, and 
thenceforth for a number of vears it was the headquarters of the United 
States Army in the West, and from it all military expeditions started. During 
this year the Indians seemed bent on annihilating every settlement by torch 
tomahawk and scalping knife. All efforts at peace or reconciliation appeared 
useless and the government determined to send a force into their stronghold 
at Fort Wayne to inflict severe chastisement on them, Gan. Harmer, a brave 
and meritorious officer was sent with 320 regular troops from New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, and 1.33 drafted militia from Pennsylvania ana Kentucky. 
He proceeded on his toilsome journey and on the 30th of September, 1790, 
arrived at the Indian towns on the Maumee River, near Fort Wayne and 
destroyed a number of villages and laid waste their corn fields. On return- 
ing he was attacked by a large number of Indians firing from their ambush, 
and compelled to retreat to Fort Washington, after having lost a large num- 
ber of men. This has been called in history -JIarmcrs Dejcatr but General 
William H. Harrison, after fully examining the evidence, declares it was not 
a defeat, but that Harmer was a brave and patriotic ofiicer and had complete- 
ly accomplished the purpose for which he went and that he made so brave a 
defense that the Indians had nothing to boast of, inasmuch as they made no 
effort to attack or even to harass the army in its return to Fort Washington. 
Gen. Harmer had in the Revolutionary war acquired ihe confidence in 






.,.Ai.-Aifl.^i^^, 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I49 

a very high degree not only of Washington, but of Wayne and Mifflin and 
an exaggerated account of his defeat was the cause of his having been sus- 
pended from his command by Gen. St. Clair and leaving for Philadelphia. 
The account of this defeat as it was called, struck terror to all the terri- 
tory, it revived the old cry that "it tiad become a slaughter house." 

The Government became alive to the real danger and determined to 
send Colonel Thomas Proctor as messenger to the western Indians with oflers 
of peace and to be accompanied by some of the Iriquois chiefs favorable to 
America ; and also to organize an army in the west to strike the Wea, Miami 
and Shawnee towns, in case the peace message failed. His efforts did fail- 
He had obtained the consent of a number of Iroquois chiefs to go with him, 
provided a passage could be had b>-water ; but the British commander at 
Niagara would not allow an EngUsh vessel to be hired to convey the Ambas- 
sador up LakeKrie, and as no other could be obtained the matter failed. To 
show the feeling of Col. Gordon the British commander, he wrote a letter 
to Capt. Brant, the mohawk chief, saying the American states "wish to im- 
press the Indians with their own consequence and of the little influence they 
would willingly believe we possess- Had they requested the British gov- 
ernment to bring about] peace the measure would have been fully accom- 
plished long before this. Yes they would have had such a peace as the 
"Lion maketh with the Lamb." 

On the 4th of March, 1791, under an act of Congress, President Wash- 
ington appointed Gen. Arthur St. Clair, Major General of all the troops to 
be employed on the frontiers, with directions from Gen. Knox, Secretary of 
War, to march to the frontiers Country, and endeavor to effect a just, liberal 
and lasting peace with all the tribes, but failing in this to use such coercive 
means as he saw proper and had the means of using, and he was auihoi ized to 
establish such posts to communicate with Fort Washington, on the Ohio as 
he might judge proper. At the same time an expedition was ordered to be 
made by Gen. Charles Scott' of Kentucky, against the Indians on the 
Wabash. 

Gen. St. Clair began to organize his forces. All necessary material of 
men, horses and ammunition were being received at Pittsburgh with inten- 
tion to be ready to march by the Fourth of July. Gen. St. Clair arrived at 
Fort Washington on the 15th of May, and found that the entire troops of the 
United States in the West numbered only two hundred and sixty-four 
privates and of&cers. This was doubled by the middle of July. 

Gen. Richard Butler was appointed second in command, and was em- 
ployed in raising recruits, but there was no money to pay them, nor to pro- 
vide provisions. Everything in the Quarter-Masters department was de- 
ficient in quanity and quality, the powder poor or injured, the arms and 
accountrements out of repair, and no tools to repair them. The troops from 
Pittsburgh were detained upon the River and gathered slowly in detach- 



150 THE CEXTKXNIAI. CKI.MBRATION OK HAMILTON. O. 

meuts at Fort Washington, and to remove theui from the temptation ot intem- 
perance which abounded in the vicinity ot" the Fort, Gen. St. Clair ordered 
their removal to Ludlow Station, now the upper part of Cincinnati, near 
College Hill, junction on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton R. R. Here 
the Army remained until the 17th of September. 

As a precautionary measure, the point to which the Army was to march 
being at a great distance through a pathless wilderness, he determined to 
erect Forts at suitable points for furnishing supplies to the troops, for their 
shelter and also for the protection of the settlers, if any were in that neighbor- 
hood. His engineers had already marked out a site at the crossing of the 
Miami where Hamilton now stands. Capt. John Armstrong who afterwards 
commanded at this Fort was here on the 2nd and 3rd of August. On the 
30th of August, Gen. St. Clair directed Major Hamktramc ' to move with the 
troops under his command as soon as the surveN^ors return from the Miami 
and report that the route from the Camp to the bank of that river is laid 
out, move by either ot the two lines Mr. Gano has marked out ; open a 
road for the passage of the artillery- and two pieces will be sent to you • 
Choose a defensible position such as may admit the troops of about three 
hundred men now here under command of Colonel Darke." His directions 
for building the Fort are interesting and explicit. "Major Ferguson has 
orders to mark out the ground for a small fort to be enclosed with pickets- 
You will emplo}- all the men that can p.^ssibly be spared for that purpose, in 
cutting down pickets, pointing them, and carrying to the place where they 
are to be put up. agreeable to such directions as Major Ferguson may give- 
The work will require about twelve hundred pickets. It is my idea that the 
best way to get it soon finished, is to give the men an easy task for the daj- 
and when they have performed it, that they sliouid be dismissed. I suppose 
three men will very easily cut down, butt and point five pickets, and that 
seven more, (^six of whom with handspikes') will carry them to the ground. 
If the working parties, then, are divided into squads of ten men, in ever}- 
one of which there should be three good axe men, and furnished with poles 
the exact length the pickets are to be cut to, and a sufficient number of 
officers and non commisioned officers to over see them, the business would be 
very soon completed and I take the liberty to recommend this method." 

But alas the zrrv soon completion did not come Gen. Knox Secre- 
tary of War was urging and pressing St. Clair to move and on the ::4th 
of September wrote to the President that everything at Camp Ludlow waS 
lovely, "that the horses for the Quarter Masters department for transporting 
the provisions and for the Artillen*- were provided, and the artillery and 
ammunition for the infantry were in readiness and the troops which had 
assembled on the 15th of Au^iisf,had on f/iaf day moved foricard to the 
crossing of Miami and reached the first post of communication." 

But alas, militarv matters and armv contractors were as uncertain in 



151 THE CENTENNIAI. CELEHRATION OF IIAMII.TON, O. 

those days as in late years. When the sanguine vSecretary ot War was con- 
templating, Oen. vSt. Clair and his hosts at Fort Hamilton, the General was 
at Fort Washington, and there for more than a month after until the i8th of 
September, and instead of the rosy color of the readiness of Camp, equipage 
for soldiers to march, the actual condition as testified to by Major Zeigler 
was "the pack saddles were too large," the tents infamous, ends being made of 
crocus" "many hundred dozens of cartridges destroyed," and "the troops not 
being kept dry were sick in great numbers," "that the clothing for the 
levees was infamous, as many who arrived at Fort Washington were almost 
naked" "the powder was tried and found very weak," "that it would carry a 
ball but a small distance compared with genuine powder," "the axes were 
too soft and when used would bend up like a diinip/ijiq;,'' "the hospital stores 
were particularly bad." 

"That Gen. vSt. Clair was the first up in the morning, going from shop to 
shop to inspect the preparations and was extremely uneasy at the delay and 
bad condition of affairs. He was really chief artisan and superitended the 
construction and repair of everything." 

But on the 17th of September about three hundred men did start from 
Fort Ludlow to build Fort Hamilton and were occupied fifteen days in par- 
tially building it. Gen. vSt. Clair said of it, that early in September 1791 
under the superintendency of Gen. Butler, Col. Drake and Gibson a fort was 
laid out on the ground previously reconnoitered to cover the passage of the 
Miami River, and to form the first link in the chain of communication be- 
tween Fort Washington and the ultimate object of the campaign. It was a 
stockade work about fifty yards square, with four bastions, and platforms for 
cannon on two of them. 

On the 30th of vSeptember the fort being nearly completed two pieces of 
artillery were placed upon it and it was named "Fort Hamilton,'" in honor of 
Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury; At what exact date 
the balance of the army left Camp Ludlow for Fort Hamilton the historians 
differ, and there is much confusion in their statements. 

Their march evidently was a slow one, leaving Ludlow their course was 
across through what is now vSpring Grove Cemetery thence up the Winton 
Road on to Hamilton, encamping first on the prairie south of the fort, and 
about where the church now stands. 

Their march was through a heavily timbered country, the season was 
wet, and they were ordered to cut the road twenty feet wide for ninety miles, 
this, and the building of bridges, greatly delayed them. One day it is said, 
they marched but a mile and a half, and beside this there was a great 
scarcity of provisions, the men were frequently on half allowance, and they 
waited until the Quarter-Master went back and hurried it up. 

When the army arrived here, it consisted of only two thousand men in- 
stead of three thousand effectives promisfd by the government. A gdneraL 



TIIIC OCNTICNNIAI. CHl.lCltK ATION Ol' lIAMll.TON, (). 151 

description of the fori I take Irom Iho liisloiy of liuilci Coiinly. The site 
selected was iminedialcly on the hank of the river. Tlie upper nid ol the 
fort was nearly oi)iH)site to where the east end of the lMid.i;e from lli^h vSt. 
on the Miami River is, ami the lower i)arl where the United Presbyterian 
Church now stands. The ground was then thickly covered with tindici , the 
fust thing done was to clear the ground of tind)er for two or three hundred 
yards all aromul. The fort was a stockade work, the whole circuit of which 
was about one thousand feet, throughout the whole extent of which a tremh 
three feet deep was dug to .set in the jiickets. The fort was on the fust bank 
of the river, the .second bank where the Court House now .stands being con. 
siderably elevated and within i)oint blank siiot, rendered it ncccs.sary to havr 
the pickets .so high on the land side as to i)revent the eucniy frem .seeing in. 
Four good bastions were made of trunks of trees, one at the northea.sl angle 
in High vStreet, .south of where the Po.st Ollice now is, north of I^rst Street, 
on ihis was a high plalforni to .scour the country .ind another was on the 
ba.stion toward the river to command the ford (which was then opposite the 
lower part of the town) and the river up and down. liarracks were erected 
in.side for the accommodation of the odicers and the one hundred men. Two 
store lum.ses, a guard room and .some other necessary buildings werc> eieeled. 
The maga/ine .stood at the .sontheavt of the fort near where the United 
Presbyterian Church now .stands. It was built of large .S(|uare tind)er, the 
sides coming elose together, and covered with a hij) roof. It was used for a 
jail for many years after the organization of Hutler County. 

The oHicers mess room stood near the rear end of the I 'niver.salist 
Church. It was a frame building, fnv{y feet long and twenty feel wide and 
weatherboarded with rough plank and .set on wooden blocks three feel Ingh. 
The planks for platform, gates and other work and barracks were .sawed by 
the men with a whip saw, often in the work of gelling out tind.er they had 
only one axe for three men. (U-ueral Ricdiard I'.uII.m .-ud. in c-ommand and 
Capt. Denny, Aidde cMuip to Ocu. St. Clair j.ined the army here Septend)er 
27th, and the army was inspected and mu.stered by Col Mentge/,, inspc-c-tor 
of the army. While they lay here, hfty seven hor.ses were stolc-n by llu- h. 
dians in one drove, and on the night of tlie ,^d of (Mober, the night before 
the army marched, twenty-one men deserted. The army marched on the 
4th of October leaving a detachment of troops at the fort to garrison it, under 
command of Capt John Armstrong. 

(ien.St Clair returnerl to I-ort Washin^t')n to organi/r .some militia iroin 
Kentucky. On the morning of October ith at eight o'eloc-k ihc^ army .starlol 
under command of (ien. Riehard Hutler. Tluy c-ros.sed the river o,,posite 
the lower end of Hamilton and marched a mile and a halflo Two MileCreek 
and camped on lands since owned l,y Mr. McClelland. The- country was 
entered unknown to the army, no person with it had ever been through it. 

The order of march as directed by (ien. St. Clair was "ist. a small party 



154 THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 

of riflemen, with Surveyor John S Gano to maik ihe course cf the road;. 
2nd. the road cutters with soldiers to protect them ; 3d. the advanced guard ; 
4th. the army in two columns, with one piece of artillery in front, one 
in the center, and one in the rear of each column. In the space between 
the two columns was to march the remaining artilhry, designed for the forts 
to be erected, then the horses with the tents and provisions, then the cattle 
with their guards who were to remove them in case the enemy appeared. Be- 
yond the coluains at the distance of about one hundred yards, was to march 
the cavalry in file, and beyond them at the same distance, a party of riflemen 
and scouts for escorts, and then other riflemen to follow the rear guard at a 
proper distance." 

This was a most admirable order for watching an enemy and if neces- 
sary forming immediately into battle order. 

But this order was changed by Gen. Butler so as to compel the troops 
to march in one line which required a road to be opened forty ieet wide. 

October 5th they marched over the hill to Four Mile Creek and encamp- 
ed where the Fearnot mill has since been built, thence to Seven Mile and en- 
camped on the east side in the southeast of Sec. 24 on lands of Robert lyytle,, 
in Milfotd Township and gave the names to the streams corresponding 
with the distances from Fort Hamilton, they continued their march nortb 
near the east line of Milford Township. 

Gen. St. Clair rejoined the army on the Sth and disapproved of the 
change of the order of march as made by Gen. Butler. Gen. Butler apolo- 
gized and gave his reasons for the change, which were not satisfaciory to 
Gen. St. Clair, who however permitted it to remain for some days as it might 
have a bad effect on the ofl&cers to see the Commanding Generals disagree, 
but directed as they advanced into the country where the enemy was likely 
to be, the original order of march should be resumed. 

On the 1 2th of October they reached a point six miles south of Green- 
ville, Darke County, and began the erection of Fort Jefierson an earth work,. 
(now a station on the Cincinnati, Jackson & MackinawR. R.) it was com- 
pleted, and on the 24th the toilsome march through the wilderness began 
with very hard rains every night. Gen. St. Clair whose duties through the 
summer had been very severe, was .suffering from severe indispositions, provi- 
sions were scarce, the roads wet and heavy, the troops marching with mud 
and difficulty, seven miles a day ; the militia deserting sixty at a time ; thus toil- 
ing along, their numbers les.sening by sickness, desertion; and troops sent to 
arrest deserters, they on the 3rd of November arrived at a branch of the 
Wabash River where the town of Fort Recovery now is, in Mercer County, 
29 miles trom Fort Jefferson and on the banks of the creek the army re- 
duced to about fourteen hundred men encamped in two lines. 

The spies of the enemy were everywhere about them ; on the nth fresh 



THE CKNTSNNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 1 55 

trails discovered; also at twelve. On the 26tli a party sent out to recouuoite, 
saw five, who escaped. On the night of 29th the whole army awakened, by 
the sentinel who saw an Indian. On the 28th four of the reconnoitering party 
were fired on and two killed, one of the others getting into camp and the 
other missing. On the 30th first signs of Indians skulking around in con- 
siderable numbers They had evidently watched and followed our troops 
all along their march and had made preparations for their attack when a 
suitable opportunity occurred, for on the morning of the 4th of Novem- 
ber, just at daylight, the whole camp was aroused by the attack from 
a large body of Indians variously estimated from one to three thousand. 
The troops defended as well as they could the sudden attack, but the 
slaughter was t«rrible. The whole camp, which extended 350 yard;, in 
length, was completely surrounded and attacked on all sides; the Indians 
not showing themselves, but firing from the ground. The slaughter was 
terrible, and our troops compelled to fly from all points; the camp and artil- 
lery abandoned, for not a horse was left alive to draw it off. The enemy 
pursued for lour miles, and others returned to pillage and scalp. One 
Indian was heard to say afterwards that he tomahawked and scalped the 
wounded and dead until he was unable to raise his arm. Gen. St. Clair 
with difiiculty was put on one of the few horses remaining but which could 
not be driven out of a walk, and barely escaped. The loss of our army was 
terrible. Among the killed were General Butler, Col. Oldham, Major's 
Ferguson, Hart and Clark ; among the wounded : Col. Sayre, Lieut. Col's^ 
Darke, Gibson, Major Butler and Aide de camp \'iscount McCartie. 

There were killed 37 Officers and 550 Privates. 

There were wounded 27 Officers and a large number of privates; 

The whole country was shocked. Never had a disaster so terribly af- 
fected the public mind. 

Back through Fort Jefferson and Hamilton on the frozen snow, came 
the almost naked, half-starved, wounded remainder of the army on its way 
to Fort Washington. The innumerable dead and dying lay scalped and 
mutilated on the battle-field; their onlj covering the white snow, which hid 
their gaping wounds and sightless eyeballs from the cold, cheerless winter 
sky, which had looked down so pitilessly on that fearful slaughter. 

The effect on General Washington when he first learned of it was 
almost crushing, and his conduct then, as related by Mr. Lear, his private 
secretary, reveals the strong passions of the man, but which he almost always 
had under such severe control. 

Mr. Lear says : " He paced the room in hurried strides. In his agony 
he struck his clenched hands against his fore-head with fearful force, and in 
a paroxism of anguish, exclaimed ; 'that brave army ! so officered, Butler ! 
Ferguson ! Kirkwood !— such officers are not to be replaced in a dav. That 
brave army cut to pieces! oh, God!' Then turning to the secretary, who 



156 THK CENTENNIAL ANNIVTRSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

Stood amazed at a spectacle so unique as Washington in all his terrors, he 
continued. 'It was here, sir, in this very room that I conversed with St. 
Clair on the very eve of his departure for the west. I remarked, I shall not 
interfere, General, with the orders of General Knox and the War Depart- 
ment; they are sufficiently comprehensive and judicious, but as an old sol- 
dier, as one whose early life was particularly engaged in Indian warfare, I 
feel myself competent to counsel. General St. Clair, in three words, beware 
of surprise ! trust not the Indian ; leave not your arms for a moment, and 
when you halt for the night, be sure to fortify your camp — again, and again, 
General, beware of surprise. And yet that brave array surprised and cut to 
pieces, with Butler and an host of others slain, oh, God !' Here the struggle 
ended, as with mighty efforts the Hero chained down the rebellious giant of 
passion, and Washington became himself again. In a subdued tone of 
voice he proceeded. " But he shall have justice ! yes, long, faithful and 
meritorious services have their claim. I repeat — he shall have justice !' " 
His adopted son, George Washington Park Curtis, in relating this scene 
saj'S : 

" It serves to display this great man as nature had made him, with passions 
fierce and impetuous, which like the tornado of the tropics, would burst for 
awhile in awful grandeur, and then shone in higher relief, a serene and bril- 
liant sky. " 

St. Clair, worn down by age, disease and the hardships of a frontier 
campaign, assailed by the press, and the current of popular feeling against 
him, went to Washington as to a shelter from the storm. With the old 
friendship Washington extended both hands to him, which St. Clair seized 
in both of his, and gave vent to his feelings with audible emotion which he 
could not control. 

Yes, Washington did him justice. The old meritorious services were 
not forgotten, and he took him to his heart as of yore, and retained him 
as Governor of the Territor\', which position he held until Novemlier, 1802 
when he was removed by Thomas Jefferson. A commission of Congress sus- 
tained him in the charges made against him in regard to his conduct at his 
defeat. 

General John S. Gano was sent by Col. Wilkinson at the head of fifty 
volunteers, among whom was Major William Henry Harrison, afterwards 
President of the Utiited States, to bury the dead at St. Clairs' deteat. They 
arrived there safely but found the great depth of snow prevented it, but they 
returned again afterwards and found the ground literally strewn with the 
dead. One soldier says he had counted over six hundred .'^kulls, and the 
bodies were stripped of clothes and terribly mutilated. 

The effect of this disaster was to strengthen the resolution of the 
people. Congress and the public authorities to crush by all means the In- 
dian power. General Anthony Wayne, in 1792, was appointed Commander 



TIIK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OK HAMILTON. O. I ^7 

Of the Military Forces, instead of General St. Clair. He was regarded as 
one of the best Generals in the Revolutionary War. Irresistible inleading a 

self?i-V r"' ^T'"""'^''' of character, and who had distinguished him 
self at Brandy wine. Germantown and Monmouth, and in the brilliant charge 

flint oT"f f^"'/'^"' ^" '"'' '' ""^"^^^^ ^'''^ -°^-d^d --kcts. 
flmts out and fixed bayonets, without firing a gun. he carried the fort and 
took 563 prisoners. 

most'^mn"f f T'' '"^^ ''°'' °' '^' ^"^' ^"^^ ^^"^^^^°- ^— - one of the 
Can tT A ""^ P°''' '" '^" ^^^^^- '^^- ^-- --d efficient officer 
Bufn r .? f '7''°°§^ ^^^ P"^ ^^ command, the garrison was enlarged and 
put in a state of perfect defense ; parties were sent out from it every day to 
reconnoiter the neighboring woods ; for the Indians were watching from 
beyond the river up and down it, every motion of the guards. Boats were 
ascending and descending the Miami with supplies from the Ohio River for 
the army, both here and at Dunlap Station, Fort Jeflerson and Ft. St. Clair 
and to the commander here was entrusted the duty of guarding the river and 
lords. He was to laad the pack horses with supplies for interior forts and 
stations and provide suitable escorts to guard them. He was by express to 
keep a constant communication with every part of the army from Ft \Va=h- 
.ngton to the extremest part, and to send relief as rapidly as possible to anv 
point where danger of savage attack was imminent. He was to provide as 
far as possib e forage for the horses, and the correspondence between him and 
he commander at Fort Washington is full of his accounts of the amount of 
hay he had cut from the adjacent prairies below the town, and the amoun 
he could supply to the troops. He was required to graze cattle and when fat 
kill them and send them to the forts. He was to make up and sign abstracts 
ot contractors accounts. 

He was to guard the river, to watch for crafts of Indians which silentlv 
came down from the head waters of the Miami and were hid in the folia^^e 
on the bank, while the owner went in quest of his victims, 
dnri ^^;, "°7^P°^de°^e between the commanders here and Ft. Washington 
during this stormy period is worthy of being published and read by all 

May 1792, Capt. Armstrong writes to Col. Wilkenson in command of Ft 
\\ ashington On the evening of the 5th your letter was handed me by the 

opoos^e r r^i!'' '"°''- ^' '"^^^"^ ^^^ ''^'^'^ themselves on the 
opposite shore for three succeeding days. I detained the escort until the 
evening ^f the 6th and in the intervval detached Lieut. Gaines with twent> 
Zslt'sC T\ "r^ leading to St. Clair with directions to recross 
Sinr '''^^'°' in ambuscade until the same party pass him 

uuelrT"" "" r^^' ''^''^- '^^^ precaution was a wise one for half a 
" ar oT ';7°^ '''"' ''^"^ '^^'^'° endeavoring to shoot a deer with 
Zll f T ^^^"°^^^>°& t^^ese he gave a yell which was answered by 

three or four others, the horse on which the express had been sent returned 



158 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

riderless and at two o'clock a raft on which three or four Indians may have 
crossed the river floated past the fort. Such were the daily experiences at 
the fort. 

Col. Wilkinson replies to Capt. Armstrong thanking him for the precau- 
tion he took to protect his convoy, saying : ''I love a man who thinks; too 
few do so, and ?ione else should commajid. 

Marck 17, 1792, we have a letter from Capt. Armstrong to Gen. St. Clair 
informing him that Col. Wilkinson left Fort Hamilton at 10 o'clock yesterday 
with 200 men to establish an intermediate fort between this and Fort Jeffer- 
son. Amid all this constant care and watchfulness it is pleasant to read 
these letters to see how promptly and earnestly their duties were performed, 
and in what courteous language they addressed each other. 

As a specimen of gallantry I doubt whether one from Capt. Armstrong 
to Mrs. Gen. St. Clair could be excelled by the most cultivated courtier. She- 
had sent some garden and flower seed to him to be planted in the fort garden 
and he replies: "I hope, madam, this letter although out of the line of 
etiquette will not give offense. Unacquainted with the etiquette of address- 
ing a lady, I have hopes, the language of my profession will not be oflensive 
to the companion of a brother ofiicer. Be pleased therefore, madam, to ac- 
cept the thanks of my family, alias the mess, for your polite attention ii 
sending us garden seeds, etc., and should we be honored by a visit from the 
donor, the flowers shall be taught to Smile at your approach and droop as 
you retire. We beg you to accept in return a few venison hams which will 
be delivered to you by Mr. Hartshorne ; they will require a little more pickle 
and some nitre. John Armstrong. 

In the spring 1793, Capt. Armstromg much to the regret of Gen. Wayne 
resfgned his position as commander of Fort Hamilton and returned to 
Columbia where he married and settled for many years. He was appointed 
Treasurer of the Northwest Territory in 1796 and again in 1799 and at the 
expiration of his term removed to a farm in Clark County, Indiana, where, 
he died in 1816, having sustained a character for the kighest integrity 
patriotism and bravery. He was succeeded in Command by Major Rudolph 
a brave ofScer, but of a stern character, who arrived at the fort late in the^ 
fall of 1792 with a corps of men. It is said that he refused to suspend for a 
moment the sentence of death pronounced against seven young soldiers lor 
desertion, although he knew an appeal for their case was pending before Col 
Wilkinson, but had them shot in the presence of four hundre d soldiers wheie 
the church stands west of the Court House. A few moments after the 
death the messenger arrived with the reprieve of a portionof them. Gen 
Wayne wiS so incensed at his cruelty that he ordered his immediate resigna- 
tion and dismissal. It is said that he afterward chartered a vessel and went 
on a trading expedition to England, but was captured by pirates and hung 
at the yard arm of his own vessel. In his stead Gen. Wayne appointed 



THE CKNTKNNIAi. ANMlVKRiiAKY OF HAMILTON, O I59 

Major Cass, a distingaished soldier of the Revolatioaary war and father of 
Gen. I^ewis Cass, who commanded at the fort until it was abandoned. His 
career while here was marked by tict, courage and a close attention to every 
requirement which would aid the Comraander-in Chief in his after successful 

campaigns 

Gen Wayne proceeded to organize his army at Hobson Choice where 
the Gas Works and Union Depot now stands in Cincinnati, and after spend- 
ing some time waiting the tardy action of Congress, and in drilling at Lud- 
low Station whence Gen. St. Clair started in 1791, left that station on the 7th 
of Oct. 1793, and cutting his way through the woods along where now lies- 
Spring Grove Avenue, Elm wood, Carthage, Lockland over Foster Hill, Wood 
lawn, through Glendale and Springdale in Hamilton Co. along th coarse o 
th^ present turnpike arrived, at Fort Hamilton and encamped on the prairie 
a short distance below the town and threw up breastworks, which it is said 
could b2 seen for many years near Trabers Mills. Gen. Wayne then took 
nearly the line of march of Gen. St. Clair and arrived at Greenville on the 
13th. Here he wa3 joined by 1000 mounted Kentuckians. He sent forward 
and built and garrisoned Fort Recovery on the site of St. Clair's defeat. 
Gen. Wayne remained at Greenville until the 28th of July following, wait, 
ing attemps to make peace with the Indians, and preparing his forces for 
battle if these efforts failed. Thence he moved to the junction of the Mpumee 
and Auglaize and built Fort Defiance. On the 20th of August 1794, he 
was victorious over the combined Indian forces at Fallen Timbers on the 
Maumee River near Perrysburg, and on the 3d of August 1795, concluded a 
peace with them by the treaty at Greenville. Being in bad health he started 
on his return to Pennsylvania, but died at Presque Isle, now Erie, Pennsyl- 
vania, Dec. 14, 1796 at the age of 51 years. He was at his own request 
buried at the foot of the flagstaff of the fort, and afterwards his son removed 
his remains to Radnor churchyard in Delaware County, Pennsjlvania. 
While his name as Mad Anthony struck terror to the enemy, it was ahvays a 
tower of strength to the American cause, and he will live in history as one 
ofthe ablest commanders of his time. 

Alter the treaty at Greenville, in 1795, the army was disbanded and 
a number of the officers and soldiers returned to Hamilton, the only set- 
tlers living near them were said to be Charles Bruce on the river a mile 
and a half above the fort, and David Beaty who built a cabin on the bank of 
the pond one mile south of the fort. 

Fort Hamilton was occupied as a garrison until the summer of 1796 
when the public stores were sold at auction and the fort abandoned. 

What grand historical recollections this old fort brings to the mind. 
The history of the men who commanded and controlled it and that of the 
country during the five years of its existence should be read by every lover 



l6o THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 

of his country. Through the most trying years of our country, they toiled 
bled and died to free this then a wilderness from savage power and open it 
up to civilization. The more than one hundred Vice-Presidents on this 
platform, each of whom was born in this county more than eighty years ago. 
I doubt not could tell you how their fathers and mothers handed down to 
them the history of those perilous times, and what security they felt when 
the government established Fort Hamilton ; how their hearts sank within 
them at the news of St. Clair's defeat, and with what rejoicing they saw the 
strong, sturdy, determined face of Wayne, as he marched here on his way to 
retrieve that bloody defeat. 

There is now a venerable lady on this platform, Mrs. Keck, 88 
years old who at present is the only living person here who saw General 
Arthur St. Clair. Her husband was one of the musicians who played at his 
funeral. 

The building of the fort here meant danger, war; its destruction, the 
signal of a glorious victory and /><far<?. Thereafter its site was destined to be 
occupied by all the arts of peace and avenues of trade. The factory, mer- 
cantile house, the house of the laborer, the church, the school-house the 
temple of justice — what a transformation I see all around me; from the 
wilderness with the lurking savage, the frowning fort, the open-mouthedcan 
non, the armed soldier, to this scene of civilization. Immense factor- 
ies, magnificient churches, and school-houses, this grand ^court house, rail- 
roads running through your midst carrying the commerce and passengers oj 
the world to all depots, the electric roads carrying for a small fare, the twenty 
thousand inhabitants of your city to all parts of it, where their business, or 
pleasure, may call ; and over your heads electric telephone wires are strung 
by which you can converse with each other for miles apart, and electric tele- 
graph by means of which you may every hour touch the throbbing pulse of 
the world. 

But the growth is not confined to your city. Your county is noted for 
the richness of its soil, and all over it one may travel for miles through the 
finest cultivated and improved farms of our state, passing through towns and 
villiages full of industrious people and happy homes. 

Twelve miles north is Middletown, wilh its hydraulic works, manufac 
tories, electric lights, magnificient churches, school house and opera house 
handsome dwellings, one of the most enterprising manufacturing cities of 
our state ; affording occupation and subsistance to a population of eight 
thousand. 

A like distance west is the beautiful village of Oxford, set as if on the 
very apex of the round globe. Celebrated for her educational institutes Fe- 
male Seminaries, and that grand old college, Miami University; with the 
reminiscences clinging around it of Dr. Bishop, Scott, McGuffy, and many 
others, and from which have gone forth into high public life more men than 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVKRSARV OF HAMILTON, O. l6l 

from any other educational institution west ot the Alleghenies. You may call 
the rolls of her sons, and they answer lure, from the pulpit, the Uni ed 
-tates Senate the Governor's mansion, the highest seat in the arena of the 
lawyers; and from the chair of President of the United States, and oyer 
the hospitalities of the house his wife, the daughter of one of .he 
Professors, who with the old cheerful face the boys fifty years ago so 
well rememh.red. Prof. Scott, now 92 years of age, watches his children 
and grand children as they frolic in that beautitul place. 

Your people have ever answered to the call of your country for men to 
defend her. Many marched with St. Clair, Wayne and Harrison and their 
bones lie mouldering at Ft. Recovery, Ft. Jefterson, Fallen Tunbers, River 
Raisin Tippecanoe, at Resaca and Moline Del Ray in Mexico, and on every 
battlefield of the War of the Rebellion, from Bull Run to Appomattox 
Court House ; and when your mothers shall be called upon to produce their 
jewels, they can point to the green hillocks under which their sons he and 
say they are hidden there until the great day when the Master shall make 

them up in his crown. . , , 

If I had time I would like to speak individually of the brave men ana 
women who have toiled in different spheres to bring about this great trans- 
formation before me-Of John Reily, member of the finst Continental Con- 
vention of Ohio; famous teacher and Clerk of your Court for Y^ars-Of 
Joseph Hough, the merchant, who for thirteen years annually bought his 
ioodsin Philadelphia, transported them over the Alleghany mountains m 
Cone stage wagons to Pittsburg, and down the Ohio on flat boats to Cincin- 
nati and up to Hamilton in wagons ; and m selHng them, as money was 
"cL took his pay in wheat, corn, pork and beef. He then packed and 
shipped It from this point in flat-boats down the Miami Rn.r to the Ohio 
and Mississippi to New Orleans and .selling out for cash returned with it 
through the wilderness and many savage tribes, and then back again to 
Philadelphia for more goods. Such labor and perseverance exceeds any_ 
thing in the way of mercantile ventures of which I have ever read.-Of 
brave and upright Joel CoUins.-Of James McBride, merchant, historian and 
architect -Sf Henry S Farhart. John W. Erwin and John C. Skinner, all 
worthy to be mentioned as engineers who surveyed for your splendid sys- 
tem of hydraulics; and every railroad and turnpike in the county.-Of John 
Woods, eminent lawyer, who as Auditor of the State brought your finan- 
cial matters out of chaos into shape, and who was fore-most in every matter 
pertaining to your interest.-William Bebb, lawyer and Governor of your 
State -Of Lewis D. Campbell, Member of Congress, Minister to Mexico, 
and prominent in your business affairs. John B. Weller. Member of Con- 
gress and Governor of California.-Matthew and Thomas Hueston and 
Israel Paxton of Wayne's army, at the battle of Fallen Timbers.-O. Drs 
Robert and David Millikin, prominent physicians-Of the many promment 



l62 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBATION OF HAMILTON, O. 



men in all departments, who in bygone years have labored to give charactei 
to your county. 

I tannot close without speaking of the sad ending of the life of Gen. St. 
Clair. No man ever queistioued his bravery, integrity or faithfulness to the 
cause of American liberty. For it he sacrific«d all he had, a large fortune, 
domestic ease, the aflfection of the friends, and when the credit of the gov- 
ernment wouid not enable him to provide supplies for his army, gave his 
own individual promise to pay what amounted to about five thousand dollars, 
for which his home and lands which had cost him fifty thousand dollars were 
sold. The government under one pretext or another refused to reimburse 
him, although his claim was strongly urged by Henry Clay, Gen. Wm. H 
Harrison and many others of the best men of the nation. He finished his' 
career at 8i years, the keeper of a wayside inn, a log cabin on Chestnut 
Ridge, Pennsylvania, having for a long time been in the most abject want 
Of the pension of sixty dollars per month wrung from Congress from very 
shame, not one cent reached him, for it was seized by a hard hearted 
creditor at the very door of the Treasury. 

These three days of the celebration of your centennial, will be an inspi 
ration to your children and to all who shall come here after this day. It will 
teach them to read what their pioneer forefathers and mothers have done 
and sufi'ered, that this land might be made a go»dly heritage for them ; and 
as they read the many incidents as related by the speakers on this occasion, 
and by the long list of men who for more than four score years have lived 
and grown up here, in what was so dense and hostile a wilderness, they will 
thank God, as we do here today, that we are a People and have such a Nation 
and history of which to be proud. 




PART III. 

ITS 



.jyCunicipalily, d^KurcKes, ScKogIs pf (loiirls 



H7^7V^IL-XON. OHIO. 




THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 16 = 

HAMIliTON:— Its Municipality. 

BY L. M. LARSH. 



'HE City of Hamilton, now containing a prosperous population 
of upwards of 20,000, is comprised of what was formerly the 
villages of Hamilton and Rossville. Hamilton was laid out 
and platted by Isreal Ludlow on the 17th day of December, 
1794, and was called 'Fairfield," but the name was shortly 
afterwards changed to "Hamilton," and was, in the year 1810, 
was incorporated under that name by a special act of the Ohio 
Legislature. Soon after Ludlow laid out the village it was 
determined to establish the county seat of Butler County at 
Hamilton, and, by way of inducement to secure the County Seat, Ludlow 
set apart for the use of the County for public buildmgs, the square now 
occupied by the Court House and surrounding park ; and for a church and 
cemetery the square in the Fourth ward now occupied as "Ludlow Park.' 
The village of Rossville was laid out and platted on March 14th 1801, 
by Jacob Burnett, John Sutherland and others. 

The villages of Hamilton and Rossville constituted separate munic 
ipalities until the annexation of Rossville to Hamilton, in the year 1854. 

On the 17th day of January, 1827, the Ohio Legislature passed an act 
incorporating the "Towns of Hamilton and Rossville," and provided for 
separate organizations. No preceeding or action of any kind was ever had 

under the law. . vj • 

The villages continued their separate existences until their consolidation 
in the year 1854. There was nothing peculiar or worthy of note in their 
administration prior to the ordinances adopted for annexation. Unless it be 
a fact that a generous fraternal rivalry existed between the citizens of the 
respective villages. . . 

The vote taken on the first Monday of April, 1854, on the proposition 
to annex the village of Rossville to the village of Hamilton resulted as 

follows to-wit : 

In Hamilton, for annexation - - - " 33 ^ ^ ores 

" " against " - - - * H9 

In Rossville, for annexation - - -' - ^59 

" " against . - - - - ou 

making in the two villages a majority of 261 votes in favor of the proposition 



1 66 THE CENTENNIAL CKIvEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 

in a total of 7 1 9 votes cast. 

After consolidation a new organization for the government of Hamilton 
was effected under the general statutes of the state regulating municipal 
corporations. From the village the municipality became a town, and thence 
forward was designated as the town of Hamilton. The town was divided 
into three wards, one west of the Miami river and two east of the river, 
High street being their dividing line. A Mayor, Marshal and Town Coun- 
cil of two members from each ward, were elected, and the government of 
the town was duly inaugurated, and was continued as such until by progress 
and increase of its population to 5,000 as required by law, the Town of 
Hamilton became the City of Hamilton in the year 1857. 

It belonged to the grade of cities designated in the Statute of Ohio, as 
second class, and under the present statute of the state, classifying municipal 
corporations, Hamilton is a city ot the second class and third grade. 

The several census taken by the United States shows the following as 
the population of Hamilton and Rossville combined until the consolidation 
in 1S54, and thereafter of the City of Hamilton, to-wit : 

In the year iSio - - - - - 294 

" " " 1S20 ----- 660 

1830 . - - - - 1,701 

" " " 1840 2,345 

" " " 1850 3.021 

" " " i860 7.232 

" " " 1870 ----- ii,oSi 

" " 18S0 ----- 12,122 

" " " 1890 i7'565 

In the year 18 12 a branch of the notorious and powerful secret oath 
bound political Tammany Society of New York City, was organized here, 
called "Wigwam No. 9." Its object was to control and manage the munici- 
pal affairs of Hamilton and Rossville, and also the official affair^ of Butler 
County. 

Although iniquitous while it continued, the Society did not exercise 

any lasting deleterious effects, and passed out of existence in the year 1816. 

From its commencement Hamilton has had a constant, healthy growth, 

and its govermental and material interests have been more than ordinarily 

successful, as compared with other municipalities, similarly situated. 

No calamity has ever occurred to mar its steady and uniform growth, it 
has excellent streets and sidewalks with properly laid crossings at their inter- 
sections ; and the greater portion of the streets of the City are drained by 
surface drainage into the river, and consequently the general sanitary con- 
dition of the City is excellent, and the death rate of the population unusually 
low. The fire department is wisely and economically ma:iaged, and has 
ever been so efficient that no fire seriously disastrous has ever occured with- 
in the city. 



the ckntknnial anniversary of hamilton, o. 167 

The Hamilton Water Works. 

From the first settlement of this city, wells had been the general reliance 
for a supply of water for domestic purposes. Of course in recent years, it 
became evident that this source was peculiarly liable to contamination from 
the worst forms of sewerage. For years the subject had been a matter of 
discussion and apprehension. In April 1882, the council appointed a com- 
mittee of prominent citizens to consider the propriety of erecting a city hall 
and other buildings, but it reported that the most urgent project was suital)le 
water works. This general conviction was confirmed by two reports made 
by Prof. Robt. B. Warder, an expert chemist, dated April 30th, and August 
3rd of that year. On the 3 ist of the following October, Council by ordinence 
decided to submit to the decision of the qualified voters of the city, at a 
special election to be held November 22nd, the proposition to issue bonds to 
the extent of $300,000 for water-works purposes. This election however, 
was not held, because of a doubt touching the legality of such action. 

It was decided that an enabling act by the Legislature of the state would 
be necessary. Such an act was passed by the Legislature on the 1 5th day 
of March, 1883. It made provision for the issue of bonds, not to exceed the 
sum of $300,000, payable after ten years, and due after thirty years from their 

date. 

The rate of interest fixed was not to exceed six per cent, per annum. 
An ordinance was passed by the City Council April 24, 1S83, providing for 
the issue of the bonds as authorized. 

Three of the trustees of the Water Works, namely, Herman Reutti. Asa 
Shuler and Jos. B. Hughes, were chosen at the municipal election on the 2nd 
of April, to serve one, two and three years respectively in their order. On 
the loth of April their bonds were approved in the sum of tweniy-five hun- 
dred dollars and on the following day they organized by electing Asa Shuler, 
President, and Jos. B. Hughes, Secretary. On the 17th of the same month 
J. D. Cook, of Toledo, was employed as consulting engineer at three thousand, 
dollars and necessary travelling expenses as compensation in gross, and he 
was at once authorized to advertise for bids. Within thirty days T. E. 
Crider, was employed as engineer in charge of the work, and Ira S. Millikin 
was chosen Secretary for one year, at a salary of nine hundred dollars. 

On May 30th, 1883, bids were opened and on the next day a contract 
for the entire work was awarded to D. F. Miuuehau, for $285,951. Minute 
provisions were made as to pipes, valves, hydrants, &c.. and the contractor 
was required to give bond in the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. The 
contract and bond were approved June 8th, and the contractor was author- 
ized to sub-let contracts for different portions of the work, namely, water 
pipes, pipe laying, valves, li3-drants and pumps. 

It seems as impossible for any new undertaking to succeed without in- 
junctions ?ind litigations, as it is for children to escape teething and whoop- 



1 68 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON. O 

fng-cough. Our water works enterprise had the usual experience , but in 
rather mild form. All natural and legal obstacles were overcome and on 
July 19, 18S4, the water was pumped for the first time. The citizens of 
Hamilton were by resolution of the board of trustees allowed the free use of 
water until the first of the following October. From this date the works 
have been in satisfactory operation. The reservoir on Wilson's Hill was 
completed so that the water was pumped to it on the 26th of September, 1 884. 

Final settlement was made with the contractor January 12, 1885. 

New boilers and other machinery soon became necessary, and authorized 
by a special act of the Legislature, the trustees issued ^15,000 (Fifteen 
Thousand Dollars) in bonds and in the Spring of 1887, the boilers were put 
in place. 

The method of pumping from a great well sunk in the drift gravel 
proved unsatisfactory, and in the summer of 1887, twenty "driven wells" were 
constructed, from which a supply has since been obtained. 

Since the expenditures above noted the service has been satisfactory, 
and the income has paid all current expenses, and in addition, has provided 
for the needed extension of the works. New wells have recently been sunk 
-and an inexhaustible supply of most excellent water has been obtained free 
of any possible contamination from surface influences. No city in Ohio has 
a better and cheaper supply of pure water and they are exclusively owned 
and operated by the city. 

City Gas Works. 

The City of Hamilton owns and operates the works from which gas is 
supplied to all private consumers, and to street lamps. Thus far, the ex- 
periment has been satisfactory and profitable. 

The project for public ownership of the Gas Works first took shape in 
1887 88. At that time John Dirk was President of the City Council and J. J 
McMaken was City Clerk. The committee of council which had the matter- 
immediately in charge, was composed of S. S. Williamson, Jos. H. Long, Geo. 
T. Reiss, and Edward E. Hull was City Solicitor. 

In response to a general public demand, an ordinance was prepared by 
the City Solicitor by the direction of the Committee on Gas, and passed by 
the City Council February 28, 1888. This ordinance provided merely for 
submitting to a popular vote, the question of erecting or purchasing gas works 
to be operated by the City. The vote was taken at the general municipal 
election in the followtng April, and the project was approved by a large 
majority. In pursuance of this popular decision, an ordinance was passed 
September 4th, 1888, submitting to a popular vote, the question of issuing 
bonds to the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the erec- 
tion of gas works. The scheme for purchasing was no longer entertained. 
The vote was taken at the general election on the 6th of November 1888, 
and resulted as follows: 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON O. 169 

For the issue of bonds, 2,412 

Against " " " 59 

The bonds thus authorized were issued pursuant to an ordinance passed 
December 18, 1888. T.iey bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum, 
are in denominations of $1,000 each, falling due at various dates, from four- 
teen to twenty-nuie years, after issue, but the city reserved the privilege of 
redemption at any time after twenty years. 

This preliminary work was not completed without delays and strenuous 
contests m the Courts. The Gas Company which had, ever since 1856, sup- 
plied the City, exhausted all legal means of preventing the erection of the 
new works. An injunction which was successfully refused by Judge Van 
Deveer of Hamilton, and Judge Sater of Greenville, was finally obtained 
from Judge Doane at Wilmington. As this injunction was issued a short 
time before the date fixed for the issue of bonds, it was modified by the action 
of Judge VanDeveer so as to allow the election to proceed. By consent, the 
questions involved were taken to the Circuit Court of the State, which de- 
cided in favor of the City's right to own and operate gas works. 

The subsisting contract between the City and the Gas Company was 
limited to January ist, 1889. The council refused to make any other con- 
tract, and by resolution instructed the Gas Company to furnish no more gas 
The old Company thereupon petitioned the United States Court for an order 
compelling the City to receive and pay for the gas. The decision in this case 
by Judge Sage, of Cincinnati, was in favor of the City. Further appeal 
upon questions of law was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States. 
Shortly after the election, authorizing the issue of bonds, the old Company 
nstituted divers suits which were dismissed finally at its cost. At last the 
Gas Company filed a petition in the quo warranto in the Supreme Court of 
the State. The contention in the proceeding was that the bonds had not 
been legally issued, and that the ordinances preliminary to the erection of 
the gas plant, were not supported by due authority of the State. The 
Supreme Court decided this case in November 1889, holding every point in 
favor of the City, and sustaining all the municipal acts. 

The council employed James R. Smedberg as Consulting Engineer, who 
under date of April 19th, 1889, submitted an estimate fixing the net cost of 
he works at $140,000. Robert Allstattr, Herman Reutti and John 
Schwartz were elected by Council, as Trustees of the Gas Works. They 
organized by choosing Robert Allstatter President, and Willard Smyers 
Secretary. 

Mr. Smedberg was appointed Engineer with a compensation of 5 per 
cent of the net cost, he to pay his own assistants. 

The first fires were lighted under tlie retorts April 9th, 1890, and on the 
28th day of the same month, the city was generally lighted. This was made 
tlie occasion of congratulations and tlianks to the Trustees, who had carried 



IJO THE CENTENIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON O. 

the works to completion with such commendable energy and fidelity. 

Tlie premium upon bonds made the receipts of trustees $151,792.89 
The total cost of the works was $151,549.20. 

It may be proper to advert to a single episode that occurred in the 
municipal administration of Hamilton. It was the placing of the city under 
martial law on the 12th day of July 1863, at the time of the John Morgan 
raid into Ohio. Morgan had cro.ssed the State line from Indiana south of 
Harrison and his adjective course pointed directly towards Hamilton. Mar- 
tial law was declared and the City was taken possession of and held under 
military control for the period of 48 hours, at which time Morgan having 
crossed eastwardly some ten miles south of the City civil authority was re- 
stored 

When the military pressure was relieved the citizens learned that they 
had suffered but little inconvenience and no injury from the military occupa- 
tion, and at once settled down equanimically into the even tenor of their 
ways, and the dove of peace and the angel of happiness has hitherto abided 
with them. 




THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I?! 

CHURCHES. 

BY DR. CYRUS FALCONER. 

ST. MARY'S CHURCH. 

IRRESPECTIVE of Nationality, the Catholics, of Hamilton, worshipped 
together until 1848. Then the Germans and Irish seperated. The 
Germans continued to hold the property now occupied by St. Stephen's 
congregation. The others purchased St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 
which was fitted up and used for Catholic worship until 1856. 

At the commencement of the work of erecting a new church, not a cent 
of money was in the Church Treasury, but as the congregation contained a 
great number of artizans, each of whom contributed labor in building, this 
seeming obstruction was removed, and, when finished, the edifice was truly 
a work and a labor of love. 

From year to year after the edifice was completed, there have been added 
altars, organs, stained-glass windows, school house and other appointments 
to equip the church for its work. 

In 1867, the congregation purchased a tract of land from the estate ot 
William Hunter, situated between Hamilton and Symmes Corner, for a cem- 

etary. . , , ^ r 

The first Parochial school was established m i860, in the basement ot 
the church, and continued there until 1890, when possession was taken of 
the new school building. 

There are 119 pews in the church, capable of seating 480 persons com- 
fortably, and 600 when necessary. One hundred and fifty-seven families 
and two hundred and eighty-one persons rent sittings. 

There are one hundred and eighty-five families in the parish, represent- 
ing a population of one thousand souls. 

There have been 2,689 baptisms and 656 marriages since 1848. No 
record of deaths was kept prior to 1867, and since then 570 persons have 

The following table shows the Pastors in charge and the record of their 
work since 1848 : 

Name. Year. Baptisms. Marriages. Deaths. 

Rev. T. Hallinan, 1848 to 1850. 66. 37- 

Jos. Kearney, 1850 to 1857. 678. 

E.P.Corcoran, 1857 to 1862. 502. 

A. O. Walker, 1862 to 1865. 232. 

C. F. Hone, 1865 to 1878. 695. 

M. L. Murphy, 1878 to 1880. 78. 

J.H.Bonner, 1880 to 1885. 185. 

P. A. Quinn, 1885 to 1888. 80. 

J. O'Donohue, 18SS to . i74- 

2689. 656. 



215- 




92. 




41. 




[24. 


225. 


22. 


45- 


53- 
20. 


125. 
80. 


52- 


95. 



>;4, 



«.L-, 





THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVEKSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I73 

BAPTIST CHURCH. 

A BAPTIST CHURCH was organized in 1829. The place of worship 
was on south B. street. 
A few 3'ears later, a division took place, upon the expedency or rather the 
right of christians to join in any associations other than the church, includ- 
ing Missionary Societies, Temperance Societies and other Reformatory and 
Benovolent Associations. The present Baptist Church was organized in 1841 
— 2, as a branch of the Lockland Church, but did not become an independ- 
ent church until 1844, when a church edifice was built, situated on Taird 
street, south of Dayton street. 

This edifice, costing a little more than three thousand dollars, was occu - 
pied until 1858. The property was sold about that time, and the congrega- 
tion began worshipping in the present building on Court street, facing on 
the public square. The church edifice cost more than $10,000, and has re- , 
cently been repaired at a cost of two thousand dollars. 

The membership at first was only twelve, but has increased to nearly 
two hundred. 

Dr. Rigdon, so many years well known as a physician, and a dignified and 
honorable man, was perhaps the most conspicuous and influential of all the 
members, manv of whom possessed, in a marked degree, firmness and 
sobriety of character. 

The government is purely Democratic, i. e. by the whole congregation. 
The doctrines do not differ essentially from those which have been taught by 
the denomination for two and a halt or three centuries. 

The first of Deacons were Dr. ly. Rigdon and James Shotwell. 

The following Preachers have served the congregation as Pastors, 

namely : 

Blodgett, ■ Roney, Wm. Ashmore, afterwards a missionary 

in China for many years; H. M. Richardson, J. M. Pendleton, R. V. W. 
Snow, R. Telford, Thomas Hanford, W. A. Smith, Thomas Eddy, W. R. 
Dennis, and Frank McFarland. 

THE FIRST REFORMED CHURCH. 

THIS CHURCH had its beginning in 1866. Services were held in the 
German Methodist Episcopal Church, in Rumple's Hall, the Universa- 
list Church and the Christian Church in West Hamilton. 

Nov. 13, 1867, an organization was affected, at the residence of August 
Breidenbach. The members of the first consistory were F. B. Tomson and 
John Breitenstein, elders ; Jesse Jacoby and George Huber, deacons. 

Sept. II, 1867, the lot at the corner of Ross and D. streets was purchased 
for $900. dollars, and was paid for by Nathan Jacoby. The funds for the 



I~4 T"R^ CKXTENNIAL ANXIVERSARV OF HAMILTON. O. 

church edifice were contributed liberally by a small membership, and by 
other congxegatious scattered over south-westeru Ohio. In this work the 
Fastor. G. F. Mechliug. was untiring and the name of Jacoby appears con- 
spicuous. 

The corner stone was laid August 30th, iSoS. and the building was dedicated 
September loth, 1S60. It had cost about eight thousand dollars. Grave 
mismanagement, to say the least by the Building Committee, and the defal- 
cation of the Treasurer, left a debt of fifty five hunded dollars upon the 
church, and the property was advertised for sale. It was saved, and the 
debt finally extinguished in 1S75, nearly mainly by the same men who had 
borne the burden from the first. 

The congregation belongs to the Reformed Church in the I'nited States of 
America, which was formerly known as the German Reformed Church. 
The Church Government is Presbyterial. and the Heidleberg Catechism is 
its standard of faith. 

ST. STEPHENS CHURCH. vROMAX CATHOLIC.^ 

THIS church was founded in iSj;::. Prior to that date there was no resi- 
dent Priest, or place of Catholic worship in Butler county. The first 

Priest to preach in Hamilton was Rev. Hill, who in 1S25 preached in 

the Court House. In 1S29. Rev. James Mullen also preached here. 
Bishop Fenwick, Rer. Montgomery-. Badin. Kundeck and Feruedin^. follow- 
ed in the work of the ministry-. In 1S30 lots numbered 151 and 152 were 
purchased for $400 vFour Hundred Dollars) the title being conveyed to 
Bishop Fenwick. In 1S32 a gothic church 40x60 ft. was erected, and soon 
afterward another building for parsonage and schools. 

The number of Catholics in Hamilton in 1S44 ^'^^ about 600. The first 
resident Pastors-. Rev. Thos. Butler, took charge of the congregation in 1S40, 
and remained until Januan.- 1S45. He w-as noted for his urbanity and 
ability as a speaker and debater. In 1S4S the church property passed to 
the ownership of the German Catholics of Hamilton, under an arrangement 
by which they paid to the Irish portion of the congregation the sum of 
:?3.ooo. that amount being considered one half the value of the church prop- 
erty. Since that time the congregation has been entirely under the charge 
of the Franciscan order. The growth of the congregation rendered a larger 
house of worship necessan.-. and in the year of 1S52. the corner stone of the 
present edifice was laid. The church was completed in i:S>3 at a cost of 
$20,000. In 1S49. the congregation established a Parochial school. Other 
necessan.- buildings, a school, vestry room, parsonage, etc., have been built 
as necessity or ability suggested. In 1SS7, the interior of the church was 
thoroughly renovated, and a new heating apparatus provided. In 1SS9 a 
new school building was erected and was dedicated in the tbllowing year, a 



THE CKNTKNNIAL ANNIVKRSARV OP HAMILTON, O. I75 

a cost, including furniture, of about $r,8oo, with a seating capacity of 6<-xj. 
The congregation at present numbers 450 families estimated at iHry, 

souls. Since 1851, the congregation has had its own cemetery. The pastors, 
with their respective terms of service have been as follows : 

Rev. Thomas R. Hutler, ..... - 1840-1845 

D. W. Hallinan 184.5-1848 

Nicholas Wachter,0. S. F. 1848-1852 

" Theophilus Kraph, O. S. V. * . . . 1852 

" Pirman Kberhard, O. S. ¥.---- - 1852-1861 

" Lorenz Co.sterling, O. S. F. .... 1S61-1862 

" Francis de Paule Kolb. O. S. i-. - - - - 1862-1866 

Nicholas Wachter, O. S. F 1866-1867 

Dionys Abarth, O. S. F. 1867-1869 

" Lucas Gottebehode, O. S. F. - - - - - 1869-1874 

" Jerome Kilgenstein, O. S. F. - - - - 1874-1877 

" Clemens Steinkamp, O. S. F. - - - - 1878-1880 

Daniel Heile O. S. F. 1878-1880 

Nicholas Holtel, O. S. F. ' - - . - - 1880-1884 

Accursius Beine, O. S. F. - - . - . 1884-1887 

Raphael He.s.se, O. S. F. - - . - - 1887 

Baptisms since 1839 were 4697. 
Marriages since 1839 were 752. 
Deaths since 1839 were 1861. 

ST. JOSEPH'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

THIS congregation was established in 1865, when St. Stephen's congre- 
gation had become too large. The square on Second Street, between 
Washington and Hanover, on which the church is built, was the gift ofWm. 
Beckett, Job E Owens, John M. Long and Robert Allstatler, who also donated 
$2500 to the building fund. In the spring time of the lollowing year, the 
work of building churches, school houses, etc., was undertaken. In June 
1866 the corner .stone was laid by Bishop Rosencrans. The church 60x125 
ft. was dedicated, ArchbLshop Purcell oflSciating, assi.sted by Bishop Toebbe 
and others September 15th, 1867. 

In March 1873 a dwelling and school house for the Sisters of Notre 
Dame was completed at a co.st of 8,000 dollars. All the appropriate equip- 
ments of a church and school house have been provided. The congrega- 
tion includes nearly three hundred families and nearly two thousand souls. 

In November 1879, a tornado threw down the .steeple damaging the 
bells, organ and church, and causing a heavy loss. The new tower is mas- 
sive, 175 feet high, of Romane.sque style. 




,a*3C»»'*»''"'«^'''**^" 




''^SgS^'^eSC 




CHURCH OF (MIKI- 



178 THH CBNTBNNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O 

The following priests have been in charge of this church : Rev. J. C • 
Albrink, in charge while the building was in progress. 

Rev. Geo. P. Steinlage, ------ May 26, 1867. 

Rev. Jos. Resch, - - . - - . March, 1873- 

Rev. A. Beine .--.-. March, 1879. 

Rev. Clemens Steinkanip -..--- 1883. 

Rev. Pacificus Winterheld, . - . - - 1887, 

Rev. Francis M. \'arelman who is now Pastor, - - 1888 

THE UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST. (GERMAN.) 

THIS congregation owns a church property on Canal Street, and a par- 
sonage at Rigdon and 9th Streets, also a vacant lot at the same place 
intended for the erection of a more convenient and commodious church 
building. 

The church was organized in the year 1881, and now has 40 members, 
a congregation of one hundred, and about seventy scholars in the Sabbath 
School. The services are conducted in the German language. Rev. J. G. 
Eischauer is the Pastor. 

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

IN the early settlement of this region, the missionaries of the cross, follow- 
ed hard upon the heels of the receding savage. Among tho.se worthy 
to be remembered, were Rev. Jas. Kemper, Matthew G. Wallace and John 
Thompson of the Presbyterian Church. These preached wherever they 
could gather a few people together, sometimes in private houses, and some- 
times in the grove, and in Hamilton they vised also the old mess room of the 
Fort, which served as a court house. 

About the year 1805, Rev, Matthew Green Wallace who resided on a 
farm 8 miles .south of Hamilton began to preach on alternate Sabbaths. In 
1 810 he took up his residence in this city and a Presbyterian Church was 
formally organized with himself as pastor, and David Beatty and Wm. Big- 
ham as elders. The population at that time was 326. Mr. Wallace con- 
tinued to preach to the church until 1821. 

The first church edifice erected was the Union Presbyterian Church built 
in theyearsof 1817 and 18 18, jointly by the Presbyterian and the Associate Re- 
form Presbyterian Congregations. Each congregation contributed one-half the 
necessary funds and each occupied the building one half the time. They 
purchased lot No. 103 of the original town plat situated in the eastern side 
ot 3d St. between High and Court streets, from David K. Este, then a citizen 
of Hamilton, but for many years afterwards, a prominent citizen of Cincin- 
nati. The cost ot the lot was 150 dollars, and the building erected 40x50 
feet cost f>T,ioo. 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 179 

This property was sold, and the Presbyterians acting for themselves, 
purchased from one John Reily lot No. 22. on south Front street, in 1829, 
and built a house of worship 50x42 feet in size, capable of seatmg 350. The 
cost of this building was $1,600. 

In January 1837 this structure was sold to the "German and English 
United Luthern and Reformed Church," and the Presbyterians purchased 
lot No. 253, and also 20 feet of Lot No. 254 adjoining,— lying on the west 
side of Front street opposite the court house. Here in 1S3S they erected a 
third place of worship, a plain, substantial brick building, 66 feet long by 42 
wide. The whole cost of this structure was about $5-ooo. In 1854 under 
the Pastorate of Rev. Chas. Sturdevant, the congregation being pressed for 
room, took the first steps toward the erection of a fourth house of worship. 
The building was finished in 1855, and is still used and occupied by the 
congregation. It contains 98 pews, with a gallery and organ loft m the 
audience room. Its length is 104 feet and breadth 4S feet, A luke airy 
basement supplies lecture room and additional rooms for classes, pastor's 
study and other church purposes. The church has a seating capacity of 500 
without crowding. The membership at present is 460. 

At this time, the church is governed by six elders, namely : Cyrus Fal- 
coner • Wm. Anderson; P. C. Conklin ; Thos. Moore: Isaac Robertson; 
Alpheus Stewart, who, together with the pastor constitute the session of the 
church, and have direction of all its spiritual interests. The temporal in- 
terests of the church are in the hands of a board of directors, Wm. B. Fal- 
coner Jas. W. Fye, A. T. Good, Jas. T. Imlay, Chas. E. McBeth, James S. 
Mitchell, Sam'l. Shaffer, Philip Stilwaugh and Jas. R. Webster. 

Since its organization in 18 10 it has had 19 Pastors : Matthew G. Wal- 
lace 1810-21; Francis Montfort, 1821-37 ; (jo^^^ J- Montfort, 1837-38; 
Thomas Wallon. 1838-40 ; Adrian Aten. 1841-42); (Augustus Pomeroy, 1832- 
36;)Chas. Packard, 1837-39 ; Thomas E. Thomas, 1839-49 ; George Darhng 

1849-51 ; Chas. Sturtevant, 1852-54 ; Levi Chri.stiau, ; Hugh Ustick, 

1*857; William McMillan, 1858-64 ; C. B. Martin, 1865-66 ; Edward J. Hamil- 
ton, i866-68 ; S. M. C. Anderson, 1870-79 ; Edward W. Abbey, 1880. 

' Through the care and foresight of Mr. James McBride, the original sub- 
scription fo"r the erection of the first church m Hamilton was preserved. It 
was cared for bv him until his death in 1859. forty years after the completion 
of the church. It then fell into the hands of Dr. Falconer, by whom it has 
been preserved for thirty years. 

The reader of this volume will find a fac-simile of that subscription. It 
would seem thas almost every citizen of Hamilton, who was able to con- 
tribute anything had some share in the erection of that church. The town 
did not contain at that time 800 inhabitants. Allowing for women and 
children it would seem that the community at large took a very active in- 




l'Ki:SKN n.KI \N 1. HI KCH 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. l8l 

terest in this first organized effort to secure a house of worship. It will be 
noticed also, that SDme of the subscribers lived in the adjoining country. 

The first ^Sunday school in this city was organized in the Presbyterian 
church, and was taught mainly by Dr. Woolsey, a physician from New 
Jer-sey, and the pastor of the church, Rev. Francis Monfort. 

During the war of the rebellion fifty-two volunteers went out from this 
congregation, many of whom, never returned. 

In the year 1869, a parsonage was purchased at a cost of $7 000 which 
is still owned by the congregation. 

The following is the original subscriptions for the erection of the 
church made in the year 1817. 

PRESJiVTERIAN ChURCH ORIGINAL vSUBSCRIPTlON. 

K710ZU all Men by these Presents : Whereas, it hath been muiually agreed 
by and between the Congregation known by the name of the Presbyterian 
Congregation, of the town of Hamilton, in the County of Butler, and vState 
of Ohio, and its vicinity of the one part, and the Congregation known by 
the name of the Associate Reformed Church, of the same place of the other 
part, that the said mo congregations shall join together in purchasing a lot 
in the town of Hamilton, and building a meeting house or house for pub- 
lic worship, these were by their articles of association, co-partnership or ten- 
antcy in common, signed by several of the members and .'■upportf rs of he 
said respective congregations, bearing date the Fourth day of August, One 
Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventeen, reference being thereunto had 
will more fully appear. Therefore to enable the said congregation to pur- 
chase the said lot and build the said meeting-house, we, whose names are 
hereunto subscribed do on the part and behalf of the said Presbyterian Con- 
gregation promise each for himself to pay or cause to be paid to William 
Murray, Hugh Wilson and David Bigham, Trustees apjiointed on the part 
of the Slid Presbyterian Congregation to superintend the purclinsiuK of said 
lot and building of the .said meeting house or to the survivors or survivor of 
them or to .such other person or persons as shall or may be appointed by the 
said Congregation to have the oversight and superiniende".ce of the .'-a;d 
premises, the .sums to our names respectfully annexed in lour eqi al ins' ail- 
ments at such time and time as the said trustees .shall appoint provided that 
no two installments shall be required within any shorter period than six 
months, it being hereby expressly understood that the payment of the .said 
sums by any individual hereunto subscribed shall render null and void every 
other subscription heretofore made by the said individual tor the lik«- or a 
less sum of money for the building of a meeting house for either of iht- said 
Congregations in the town of Hamilton. 

Given under our hands the Fifth day of Augu.st, One Thousand Eight 
Hundred and Seventeen. 



l82 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMIIvTON O. 



William Murray . 


. . $IOO CO 


John Reily 


. . ICO GO 


James Boal 


. . 40 00 


James McBride 


. . 50 00 


Isreal Paxton 


. . 12 GO 


David Latham 


. . 20 00 


Daniel Keyle 


5G 00 


Isaac Hawley 


5 00 


Thomas Mitchell 


20 00 


D. Bigham 


4G GO 


0. M. Muetton 


20 GO 


J. M. Caldwell 


20 00 


Isaac Anderson 


20 GG 


Dan. Millikin 


25 GO 


Jno. Hall 


. . . IG 00 


E. G. McConnell 


. . . 15 GO 


A. P. Andrews 


10 GO 


Jos. J. Burliam 


. . . IG 00 


Thos. Huntt-r 


S GO 


Sam. Davis, Jr. 


. . . 10 GO 


John HcClure, Jr. 


15 GO 


Alexander Prandfit 


• • 5 00 


Benj Colleit 


. . . 20 00 


Johnathan Pierson 


. . I 5 OG 


Burket Thayer 


. . . 5 00 


Robert Irwin 


40 GO 


John R. Crane 


. . . 12 30 


Caleb Seward 


S GO 


Daniel vSeward [x 


his mark] 5 00 




$5"5 50 



James Wilson . . . 


$60 00 


Hugh Wilson . . . 


50 00 


Joseph Garniger . . 


5 00 


James Johnston 


10 00 


Margant Beaty . . 


10 00 


John Jones . . 


10 00 


Johnathan Line . . 


10 00 


Abraham Pratt . . 


5 00 


Thos. Stephens . . 


5 00 


William Moore . . 


15 00 


Everson Say re . . 


25 00 


Samuel McClure . . 


4 00 


Nicholas Davis . . 


8 00 


John Sheerer . . 


4 00 


Joseph Wickard . . 


4 00 


William Blair . . 


10 00 


W. Gauntler 


10 00 


Abner Torbert . . 


40 00 


H. D. Cramer . . 


• ' 5 00 


George Burnap 


5 00 


Hezekiah Woodbury 


20 00 


Robert Anderson 


10 00 


Jacob Rickart . . 


5 00 


Solornon Line 


4 00 


Johnston E. Duffield 


30 00 


D. K. Este . . 


15 00 


Wm. McClellan . . 


50 00 


Wm. Cornell . . 


5 00 


Willard M. Smith 


25 00 


Thomas Alston . . 


12 00 




$365.00 



'^v/",: 

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'I 



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.D CHIKCH SI.HSLKII^TIUN LIST. 



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OLD CHVRCH SUBSCRIPTION LIST. 



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t , t '«/^- ■^-^' •^•' ^-^' ' ' -^ 









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OLD CHlkCU SLlJSCKll'l'lDN l.IM 



^' yK..:^^^ /•>.>/ ,^^,. ^'^ ^ 



/-A-r;^.cf.^c'k>4^h i 



OLD CHURCH SUBSCRIPTION I.I^T. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON', O, 1 87 

PAYNE CHAPEL. 

THIvS congregation is connected with the African Methodi-st Episcopal 
Church. It was organized in the year of 1840, in the hou.se of Matilda 
Taylor ])y Rev. Thomas Lawrence of Cincinnati. There were 19 members 
enrolled at the time of the organization. Among those the names of Ander- 
son, Sampson. Jones and Yancy are prominent. Steps were at once taken 
to secure a site and erect a church. The lot which is still u.sed was pur- 
chased, and a church 24^^x38 feet was erected which was dedicated in June 
1842. At the first communion administered by Rev. Henry Atkin!3on, there 
were 24 communicants. This congregation was attached to the Cincinnati 
Circuit in 1844, and preaching took place every three weeks. Rev. W. M. 
Clark, Watkins Lee, Daniel Winslow, Jno. Woodson, Alexander Austen and 
perhaps others were engaged in this mini.stry. Afterward Oxford and Ham- 
ilton congregations of colored people, were united, and had a pastor. Rev. 
Jeremiah Lewis came first. Under the pastorate of H. J. Jackson, the first 
work was done toward the present house of worship. The progress of this 
building was slow, continuing under the pastorate of Moses Walker, D. W. 
Clark, G. H. vShaeffer, and completed under the pastorate of PhiHp Tolliver. 
The lower story had been finished sone time, but the audience room was 
completed and furnished under the last named pastorate. In 1880 the con- 
gregation was separated from Oxford, and Rev. T. Knox became pastor. 

The sub.sequent pastors have been]: C. H. Fundy, under whose pastor- 
ate, the comfortable parsonage was built. P. Alston, J. Griffiu, G. W. Prioleau, 
G. W. Maxwell, and John Dickerson, who is still pastor. 

ST. JOHN'S GERMAN UNITED EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT 

CHURCH. 

IN 1829 John Reily and wife sold for $1 to the Trustees of the First Presby- 
terian Church of Hamilton, lot No. 22, in the original plat, on which a 
church was erected shortly after. On the 6th day of January 1837, this 
church was .sold to the tru.stees of the German and English United Lutheran 
and Reformed church for $700. 

The trustees were : Daniel Beaver, Christian Rothenbusch and August 
Breitenbach. In 1838 these trustees transferred the property to Jacob Rupp, 
Peter Jacob and Frederick Gressle, for the exclusive purpose of a German 
church; During the brief period intervening, both English and German 
services had been held. At this time the congregation took the name by 
which it is still known. 

In 1839, an adjoining lot for a parsonage was purchased from Valentine 
Freeman, and a log house was erected as a residence for the pastor. This 
log parsonage was standing as late as 1866. The first pastor was Rev. Geo. 
Reiss, but his pastorate was very briet. He was succeeded before the ex- 
piration of 1838, by the Rev. Rosenfeld, who remained until 1841, During 



i88 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

his brief pastorate of three years, 143 children were baptised, there were 12 
confirmations, 74 marriages, and 124 funerals, showing a considerable Ger- 
man population even at that early date. During the succeeding 29 years, 
the church had 1 7 pastors. During this period other German congregations 
were organized, and the membership of this church wa? reduced to about 
fifty. In September 1866, Rev. C. A. Herman took charge and organized 
the congregation anew. The old church was torn down and the present 
commodious building with 1,200 sittings was detcere 

During his first pastorate of three years there were 1056 baptisms, 545 
confirmations, 231 marriages and 231 funerals. 

He was succeeded by the Rev. Phillip Stempel, who remained until 
1888. In 1887 the congregrtion celebrated its semi-centennial, when a large 
assembly of friends attested their interest by their presence. 

In March 1S83, Rev, C. A. Horrnian returned to the Pastorate where he 
still officiates. 

The church has now over 1,300 communicants, a Sunday cchccl r.itli 
38 teachers and 623 pupils, a ladies benevolent society with 300 members, a 
young peoples society with 215 members, and other organizations for carry- 
ing on their church work. 

In 1892 a mission Sunday School was inaugurated in East Hamilton, 
and two building lots have been donated for the enterprise by the East Ham- 
ilton Syndicate. 

This enterprise it is hoped, will he the nucleus of an influential church. 

UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The exact date of the organization of this congregation is not known 
and cannot now be ascertained. However it must have happened in 
the year of 181 5. Tradition has it that the originators were three devout 
r.nd honorable women. 

It was known as the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, a de- 
nomination sprung from tlie Dissenters of Scotland. From the earliest set- 
tlement of the country, Rev. Adam Rankin and Rev. R. H. Bishop of Ken- 
tucky, and Rev. David Risk of Hamilton county preached to the scattered 
members of that church. 

A colony of the same denomination from South Carolina, attracted by 
the Prohibition of vSlavery in Ohio, and the Northwest, with Rev. Alex Por- 
ter as Pastor, settled in Isreal Township, Preble county, and their influence 
aided considerably in furtliering tlie work. 

For the first thirty years the record-^ of the ciiurch are so detective, that 
they afford little help in writing a history. 

Rev. David McDill, the first Pastor, was installed October 6th, 1818, 
though he had preached to the people during the two previous years. 

The first church building was jointly erected and occupied with the 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON. O. 189 

Presbyterian congregation, as stated in the history of that church. The 
trustees in behalf of this congregation were James Brown, Wm. Caldwell, y" 

John Sutherland and Joseph Latta. 

In 1828 upon the sale of the joint church property, the congregation 
purchased the lot now occupied, on the southeast corner of Court and Water 
streets, for one hundred dollars, upon which a house of worship was erected. 
It was'a modest, neat brick structure, facing toward the river, with a cupola 
at the western gable, with two entrances at each end and the Pulpit between 
the front doors. 

Dr. McDill served as Pastor until June 1847, a pastorate of more than 
thirty years, which was terminated at his own request, and not upon the 
suggestion of any member of the church. He was possessed of fine combi- 
nation of qualities, a wise, just and thoughtful man. His opinions were 
weighty never hastily given, but apt to gain conviction and assent, and sure 
to be treated with respect. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Wm. Davidson who was installed in March 
1848, and continued in the Pastorate until April 7, 1874— two pastors in fifty 
5'ears. 

In 1852 an additional lot was purchased and a new church edifice erect- 
ed, — still m use except as repaired and enlarged 

In 1866-7, the Lecture and Sabbath Scliool rooms in the rear of the 
church, and the parsonage were erected. The following list contains the 
names of all the Pastors: 

David McDill, D. D. to June 1847. 

Wm. Davidson, D. D. to April 1874. 

A. W. Clokey, to June 1876. 

J. W. Bain, D. D. to March 1882. 

E. C. Simpson, now pa.stor. 

The following is believed to be a complete list of Ruling Elders ; Messrs : 
James Brown, Wm. Caldwell, James vScott, Samuel Gray, Wm. Taylor, Rob- 
ert Caldwell, James McDaniel, John McDaniel, David Crawford, James Gif- 
fin, George R. Caldwell, Robert Scott, R. C. Stewart, Wm. E. Brown, John 
McKee, Robert Beckett, D. W. McClung, John Scott, Adam Laurie, J. L. 
Kirkpatrick, J. R. McKee, Will. T. Scott, R. C. McKinney, Geo. C. Rife, S. 
T. Wa.sson. 

The present membership is two hundred and twenty five. 
In addition to supporting their own church, and giving annually $600 
to the cause of missions, this congregation supports a Mission Church in the 
Fifth Ward. The following is the original sub,scriptions for the erection of 
the church made in the year 1817. 

A^noza all men by these Presents : Whereas, it hath been mutually agreed 
by and between the Congregation known by the name of the Presbyterian 
Congregation of the town of Hamilton, in the County of Butler, and State of 
Ohio, and its vicinity of the one part, and the Congregation known by the 
name of the Associate Reformed Church of the same place of the other part, 
that the said two congregations shall join together in purchasing a lot in the 
town of Hamilton, and building a meeting house or hou.se for public worship, 
these were by their articles of association co-partnership or tenantcy in com- 
mon signed by several of the members and supporters of the said respective 
congregations, bearing date the Fourth day of August, One Thousand Eight 



I go 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVEKSAKY OF HAMILTON, O. 



Hundred and Seventeen reference being thereunto had will more fully ap- 
pear. Therefore to enable the said congregation to purchase said lot and 
build the said meeting house, we, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do 
on the part and behalf of said congregation known by the name of the Asso' 
ciate Reformed Church promise each for himself to pay or cause to be paid 
to James Brown, William Caldwill, John Sutherland or Joseph Latta, trustees 
appointed on the part of the said Associate Reformed Congregation to 
superintend the purchasing of said lot and building of the said meeting house 
or to the survivor or survivors ot them or to each other person or persons as 
may be appointed by the said congregation to have the oversight and super- 
intendence of the said premises the sums to our names respectively annexed 
in four equal installments at such time and times as the said trustees shall ap- 
point provided that no two installments shall be required within any shorter 
period than six months. It being expressly understood that the payment of 
said sums by any individual hereunto subscribed shall render null and void 
every other subscription heretofore made by the said iddividual for the like 
or a less sum of money, for the building of a meeting house for either of 
the said congregations in the town of Hamilton. 

Given under our hand this Fifth day of August, One Thousand Ivight 
Hundred and Seventeen. 
James Brown 
Wm. Caldwell 
John Sutherland 
Thos. Blair 
James P. Ramsey 
Jno. Hall 
Isaac Falconer 
William Taylor 
John Caldwell 
James lyister 
John Smiley 
John Hall 
William Wallace 
John Daniel 
Robert Fleming 
John Brown 
David lyatham 
William Potter 
Alex Lelorad 
Joseph Hender.son 
John Holmes 
Margret Ewing 
John K. Scolt 
John Alexander 
Andrew W^ilson 
James Reed 
Isaac Hawley 
Samuel McClure 
Hezekiah Broadlii 
Thomas R. Smiley 
James Clark 



$50 


00 


Jno. McCrackin 


50 


00 


Joseph Latta 


320 


00 


Richard Scott 


50 


00 


A. C. Andrews 


50 


00 


John R. Crane 


10 


GO 


Josiah Wilson 


10 


00 


Henry Taylor 


10 


GO 


Edward Comiharde 


12 


GG 


John Nelson 


12 


GO 


Robert Scott 


12 


OG 


Wm. Lewis 


25 


00 


John Schooly 


26 


GG 


Jost ph Hahn 


15 


GO 


Ural Edwards 


50 


GO 


John W^ilson 


15 


00 


Jacob Rickart 


20 


00 


James Blackburn . 


30 


GO 


Joseph G. Elliott . 


15 


00 


D. H. Este 


15 


OG 


Robert Gray 


5 


GG 


John Winton 


6 


GG 


James Belle 


10 


00 


Thomas Stone 


5 


OG 


Wm. Stewart 


30 


00 


Wm. M alone 


50 


GO 


Thos. Hurston 


5 


GG 


Thomas DeFord . 


5 


OG 


Jno Rt-es 


10 


GG 


Wm. Finiley 


5 


00 


John Line 


5 


00 





50 


GO 


30 


GG 


5 


00 


IG 


OG 


12 


50 


10 


00 


5 


GG 


5 


GO 


10 


OG 


10 


GO 


40 


GG 


I 


GG 


2 


GO 


2 


GG 


IG 


OG 


5 


OG 


40 


GO 


4 


GO 


15 


00 


12 


OG 


15 


00 


IG 


GO 


7 


OG 


25 


GG 


2 


GO 


3 


OG 


2 


00 


5 


OG 


IG 


GO 


I 


GO 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O 191 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

TOWARD the close of the year 1818, the Rev. Samuel West, a circuit 
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church organized in Hamilton 
the first society of that denomination in the city. It was composed of the 
following members : Thomas Sinnard and wife, Aaron Jewell and wife, Mrs. 
John Caldwell and Miss Lydia Jones. 

The following year Hamilton and Rossville were made a station, and 
Mr. West preached alternately in the school house on the corner of Third 
and Dayton streets in Hamilton, and in Felorac's warehouse in Rossville, 
and in the same, year the first Methodist meeting-house was built. It was 
erected on Ludlow street between 2nd and 3rd streets on the site of the 
present church. It was of brick 42 feet long by 30 feet wide. The land on 
which it was erected was a gift by John Woods. The building cost $1300 
At the end of the year 1821 the membership had increased to 65. In 1833 
another lot adjacent to the former lot was donated to the society by John 
Woods, and a new church building 60x45 feet was erected at a cost of $4,800 
and the old building was occupied as a cerpenter shop. In March 1839, 
both the carpenter shop and the church building were destroyed by fire, 
which first caught in the shop. 

In 1840 a new church building was erected and was thereafter occupied 
up until 1868 when the same was remodeled and reconstructed into the 
present commodious house at an outlay of $1 1,000, 

The ministers who have officiated as pastors of the church up to the 
present time with the periods of their services are as follows : 

1819, Samuel West. 1844, A. M. Lorrain. 

1820, Henry Baker. 1815, M. Dustin. 

182 1, John P. Durbin. 1846 and i 47, Augustus Brown. 

1822, Henry Baker. 1848 and 1 49, Augustus Eddy. 

1823, Thomas Hilt. 1850, i 51 and i 52, W. H. Lawder. 
1854, John P. Taylor and Augustus 1853, W. R. Davis. 

Eddy. ' 1854. J. J. Hill. 

1825, A. S. McClain and John P. 1855, Moses Smith. 
Taylor. 1856, E. G. Nicholson. 

1826, A. M. Loring. 1857 i 5 i 59, C. R. Lovell. 

1827, William vSimmons D D. Dav- i860, A. Lowrey. 

isson. 1 86 1 and i 62, W. H. Lawder. 

1828, John A. Baughmau. 1863, Moses Smith. 

1829, John A. Baughman. 1864,1 65 and i 66, J. J.Thompson. 

1830, Robert O. Spencer. 1867, Chas. Ferguson. 

183 1, G. R. Jones. 1868, i 69 and i 70, W. I. Fee. 

1832, Willliam Simmons. 1871, i 72 and i 73, D. W. Starr. 

1833, E. Zimmerman. 1874, i 75 and i 76, T. J. Harris. 

1834, J. J. Hill and Daniel Poe. 1877 and i 7 , G. H. Dart. 
1835 and I 37, S. A. Latta. 1879, Granville Moody. 
1837, and I 3 , W. D. Barnet. 1880 and i 2, T. S. Cowden. 
1839, David Reed. 1882 and i 5, James Murray. 
1840 and I 41,0. W. Swain. 1885 and i 90, George W. Dubois. 

1842, David Whitcomb. 1890 to this date C. W. GuUettes. 

1843, W. R. Anderson. 

The membership is upwards of 500, and the society is in a prosperous 
condition. 




ST. JOHNS EVANGELICAL GERMAN PROTESTANT CHURCH. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 195 



SOHOOL-S. 



ARTICLE III of the Ordinance of 1787 stipulates that religion, morality 
and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happi- 
ness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be en- 
couraged in the North Western Territory. 

The above sentiment was intensified in the contract made by the U. S. 
Government with John Cleves Symmes in the transaction known as the 
Miami purchase, in which agreement it was provided, that Section 16 in 
every township should be forever set apart and appropriated to the purpose 
ot education, and Section 27 in each township .should likewise be appropri- 
ated to the cause of religion. 

And the constitution of the State of Ohio adopted, in 1802, still further 
crystalized public sentiment by providing in the Bill of Rights, Article 
VIII, Section 25 ; "That no law .shall be passed to prevent the poor in the 
.several |counties and townships within this state from an equal participa- 
tion in the schools, academies, colleges and universities within this state, 
which are endowed, in whole or in part, from the revenue arising from dona- 
tions made by the United States, for the support of schools and colleges, and 
the doors of said schools, academies and universities, shall be open for the 
reception of scholars, students and teachers of every grade, without any 
distinction or preference whatever, contrary to the intent for which said do- 
nations were made." 

No general system for organization of the common school system of 
Ohio was enacted by the legislature of Ohio, until the year 1825, and it was 
sometime thereafter before any organization of schools could be eflfected, — 
the two main causes being want of funds and want of scholars sufficient in 
number in any one locality, to afford the number proper to conduct a school. 

In the meantime from the first settlement of Hamilton, until the time 
the organizations were effected under the common school .system, the youth 
of Hamilton were wholly dependent for their school education upon the ir- 
regular and uncertain services of a class of inerant pedagogues, mainly of 
Irish and Scotch nativity, but occasionally one of Yankee extraction. 

They were generally flagelators and calathumpians of the standard pat- 
tern of the time ; usually men of some scholastic acquirememts and often of 
cultivated bibulous habits. 

Books were few and of varied merit, and system was lacking in method 
of teaching, each teacher, so as to speak, being his own architect and his own 
executioner. The first items of knowledge that the .scholar acquired from 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. I97 

one teacher were liable to be dispelled by the next. 

Many anecdotes are told by the pioneers, of the schools and teachers of 
those early days. It is not possible now to learn who taught the first school 
in Hamilton, or in what house the school was taught. It is not probable 
that any record of it was ever made, and no one is living who attended the 
school, or has any accurate knowledge on the subject Prior to the adoption 
of the general school system of Ohio, the schools of Hamilton were support- 
ed by subscriptions. The teacher would rent a room and would then obtain 
subscriptions from the parents. Usually he was paid 75c or $1.25 per scholar 
for a quarter of three months. Some subscriptions ran as low as a half or . 
quarter of a dollar, as the parents might be able to spare their children from 
service at home. The schools seldom lasted more than six months in the 
year. 

The first school house in Hamilton, erected in the ist ward, (known as V 
Rossville) was at the corner of A. and South streets. 

Dr. Falconer, illustrative of the pioneer methods and'pioneer teachers, 
relates the following anecdote of an old Yankee teacher of the bibilous kind 
named Knapp. He usually became intoxicated in the afternoon and was 
generally pretty mellow by dismissing time. To encourage the scholars in 
the important art of spelling, he would arrange the entire .school in a line on 
their feet and would pronounce words to them to be spelled, and the most 
successful speller was promoted to the head of the line. On one occasion, 
the old teacher pronounced the word Hambush. It passed up and down the 
line several times, and each time the old fellow would pronounce the word 
with accumulated energy, and with denunciation of the stupidity of his 
scholars. The teacher was becoming thoroughly enraged, and the entire 
school was in imminent danger of being flogged for their obtuseness, when 
one of the boys bethought himself of the word Wabash that he remembered 
was printed on the page that the teacher was pronouncing from, and when 
it next came his turn to spell at the word, he boldly and in a loud voice 
spelled out: W-a — Ham b-a-s-h — bush — Hambush. "Good boy, shouted 
the teacher, you go to the head of the class. You are a bright boy, and you 
will become a great man some of these days." 

There is not even a tradition of any school in Hamilton prior to 1810. 
We are very sure that the children and youth ot that period did not grow up 
entirely ignorant. Doubtless there were teachers who had received their 
education in the older portions of the country. Tradition reports that in 
about 1 8 10 a Mr. Richey established a school in Hamilton. At first his 
school was taught on Front St. Third Ward, in a house on lot No. 174. 
Afterward in a log house on the site of St. Mary's Church. In 181 2 and for 
some 3'ears following Rev. Matthew G. Wallace had a school in the Court 
House, where the higher branches of learning were taught, in addition to 
the rudiments of education. In 1815, Benj. H. Pardee taught a school on 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 1 99 

Second Street, where the Benuinghofen residence now stands, and about 
the same time a Mr. Elder taught in Rossville. 

In 181 8 Alexander Proudfit, a student of Medicine, and a man of liberal 
education, taught a school on Heaton Street, in a house erected on lot No. 
203, by Dr. Daniel Millikin. 

During the same year, the Hamilton literary Society erected a house 
at the southwest corner of Third and Dayton Streets, where a school was 
taught for many successive years. The Rev. Jas. McMechan, Henry Baker, 
Joseph Blackleach, Wm. Hawthorne, Mr. Gibson, Abel C. Burroughs, and 
Benjamin F. Raleigh were teachers at this place prior to 1830. Afterward 
the school was continued by Serbern, Harris, and Mr. Nathaniel Furman, 
the last named being the last of the teachers of private schools. 

About the year 1850 James Bell conducted a private .school in Rossville f 
for several years, and was succeeded by P^van Davies, who was the last of the V 
teachers of private schools on the west side of the river. 

When it is remembered that Hamilton was but an insignificant village 
during tho.se early years, it will be observed that the people were not indif- 
ferent to education. The number of schools and of teachers is proof that 
there was no lack of means of education. 

In 1819 Miss Ella A. McMechan, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Mc- 
Mechan, above referred to, opened a school at the northeast corner of Third 
and Buckeye Streets, on the lot No. 181, adjoining the one on which the 
Lane Free Library now stands, which next was removed to Ludlow St. near 
Third. To her belongs the distinction of being the first women in Hamilton 
to engage in teaching, She was a woman of unu.sual accomplishments for 
her time, and her school was patronized by many of the best citizens of the 
town. She continued to teach for eight years, and after leaving the teacher's 
profession, .she married Hon Charles R. Smith. 

Another .school which .served as a .sort of a connecting link between the 
schools of the earlier days and those of the present, must not be passed un- 
noticed, the Hamilton and Rossville Female Academy. This Academy was 
chartered by the legislature of the state, and appears to have been opened in 
February 1835. The school rapidly rose in public favor, and continued its 
exi.stence until the year 1852. For two years following Mr. Nathaniel Fur- 
man occupied the building with his private .school. But the encroachments 
of business and manufacturing had made the building untenable for .school 
purposes, and he removed to the southwest corner of Third and Dayton 
streets. 

From 1825 to 1857 the public .schools had been managed by trustees of 
the different school districts. By a vote of the people April 13th, 1851, one 
hundred and four to four, the schools of Hamilton (east side of the river) 
passed under the "Akron School Law." A special act of the legi.slature 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 201 

originally divised for Akron but made applicable to such other numicipali- 
ties as might adopt it. This law was the beginning of the Ohio system of 
graded schools. In the Autumn following the adoption ot the Akron law, 
the work of grading and classifying the schools began. 

In 1854 the union of Hamilton and Rossville was made. The schools 
were united in one system at the beginning of the following year. 

Since that date no material changes have taken place. The private 
schools have disappeared, but the Parochial schools more and more divided 
the work of public education. 



M 



MIAMI UNIVERSITY. 

lAMI UNIVERSITY, situated at Oxford, Ohio, chartered in 1809, 
opened as an Academy in 18 16, and with a full Collegiate Course in 
1824, is the most famous educational institution in Butler county. 

The endowment consists of the rental of the lands of Oxford Township, 
an educational gift from the United States. Three of the buildings were 
erected out of the endowment fund, The chapel was the gift of the Alumni 
and friends of the school, and the Scientific Hall was the gift of Senator 
Calvin S. Brice, an alumnus, and the most liberal friend of the school. Its 
scientific apparatus and its library of 11,000 volumes furnish important 
aids in the work of education. 

From 1824 forward through fifty years, this school did a great educa- 
tional work. It has been repeatedly stated, that in proportion to the number 
of its pupils, it furnished more men of note and influence, than anj^ other 
school in the United States. 

Owing to lack of funds, it was closed in 1873 ^^^ remained closed until 
1885, during which time its debts were paid and a considerable endowment 
fund accumulated. 

It now has a gross income from rents, tuition fees, and interest of more 
than ($10,000) Ten Thousand Dollars, and in recent years the .state has 
adopted the policy of making njoderate additional apportions for the care 
and maintainance of the buildings, grounds, apparatus, &c. 

This school has always been noted for the soundness of its education. 
It has adhered to the usual course of college .study, holding as its guide : "We 
do a few things well." The results so far have vindicated the practice of the 
University. 

Among men prominent in political affairs she counts : Rob. C. Schenck, 
Samuel Shellabarger, Governor Morton Governor Charles H. Hardin, Gov- 
""ernor Eowe of Iowa, Wm. S. Groesbeck, Governor Chas. Anderson, Gover- 
nor McRae of MissLssippiTGeo. E. Pugh, Senator Calvin S. Brice, President 
Harrison and many others. 

Among the distinguished editors she counts : John J. Harney, James J. 




?^WV^C?'^\,. 



THH CIvNTl'.NMAI, ANN! VJ-.RSA R\- ()V I lA.M II,Tr)N. O. 



20;^ 



Karrun, WiiiLelaw Keid. 

Among eminent clergymen we find: Dr. Thomas Iv Thomos, Thornton 
A. Mills, I^.enj. W. Chidlaw, Jos. Cr. MtmUyrt, Jas. II. P>r(;oks. David ICvving 
and Chancellor Henry M. McCracken. 

At tlii.stime the attendance of .students is steadily increasing, and every- 
thing indicates that the school will recover its old time standing. The work 
of instruction is performed by ten professors who are proficient in their work. 
While the University does not pretend to teach all that may be known in 
the world, it is thoroughly equipped for thorough instruction in more of the 
branches of learning than any student can master within the time allowed 
for school education. 




Wl.STHKN WKMAI,!'', COI,I,KGK, OX l-OklJ. n. 




3 1i®ili^:St/; .i^-fiBET Y__ .^' 










M-:\S' (,'(11- RT llOfSlv 



THE CENTENNIAL ANMVEKSAKY OK HAMILTON, O 207 



COURTS 

i:\ 'I'lioMAs >rii,i.iKix. 




HK history of the Courts of Butler County, to be properly 
written, would occupy more space than can be appropriated 
to the purpose in the volume proposed to be published as 
Hamilton's Centennial Souv^enir, having in view the various 
matters claiming space in such a publication. Hence a brief 
statement of facts must suffice. 

The County of Butler was formed by an Act of the Ohio 
Legislature in 1803, and the seat of justice established at 
Hamilton upon report of James Silvers, Benjamin Stites and 
David Sutton, commissioners appointed b}- the Legislature to select a loca- 
tion for the county seat. Several enterprising parties sought the location of 
the county seat on property owned by them, — notably Wm. McClellan and 
Geo. P. Torrance who owned the land on the northerly side of the Miam' 
River opposite the Hydraulic Headgates, some four miles up the river from 
Hamilton and bj" Jacob Burnet, John Sutherland and others composing a 
company who owned the land on the west side of the Miami River opposite 
Hamilton and now comprised in the first ward of the city. 

Isreal Ludlow, proprietor of the towm plat of Hamilton proposed to the 
commissioners to donate one square in Hamilton to the county for church 
and burial purposes. It is the same square in the 4th ward now occupied 
by the beautilul Ludlow Park, and another square for public buildings, and 
to pay tow^ard the erection of a Court House in money $200. The offer of 
Ludlow was accepted but he died in the year 1804, and before he had made 
conveyance of the property, Subsequently the administrators of his estate 
under authority of a decree of the Court of Common Pleas, completed the 
contract and made conveyance of the property to the county, and the same 
is now in use by the county for the purpose of public buildings and the Court 
House Park. After the establishment of County Butler in the early part of 
1803, but before location of the permanent county seat at Hamilton, James 
Dunn, John Greer and John Kitchen by act of the Legislature had been 
appointed associate Judges, and the}' organized and held the first civil court 
ever convened in the county. The session began May loth, 1803, and was 
held in the tavern of John Torrence, situated on the corner of Dayton and 
Water streets. The same building is yet standing in a good state of preser- 
vation. It was the first frame building erected in Hamilton. 



THE CENTENNIAL A.NNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 209 

On Tuesday July 12th, 1803, the Court of Common Pleas of Butler 
County was organized and held in the same building. Francis Dunlevy was 
the Common Pleas Judge and presided, and with the above named associate 
judges constituted the court. John Reily was appointed Clerk, James 
Blackburn, Sheriff, and -Samuel Dillon Coroner. Daniel Symmes officiated 
as Prosecuting Attorney. On October nth, 1803, the Supreme Court of 
Butler County was organized and held in the same place. The judges were 
Samuel Huntington, William Sprigg and Arthur St. Clair, Jr., was prosecu- 
ting attorney. William McClellan (the first elected) sherifi", and John Reily 
was appointed clerk also of this Court. 

The above Courts were organized under the Constitution of the State of 
Ohio adopted by the people in the year 1802. 

Article III, of that Constitution provided that the judicial power of the 
State both as to matters of law and equity should be tested in a Supreme 
Court, in Courts of Commort Pleas for each count}^ in Justices of the Peace 
and in such other courts as the Legislature might from time to time estab- 
lish. The Legislature enacted laws establishing and defining the duties and 
powers of the Supreme Court, and Courts of Common Pleas, and Justices of 
the Peace, Courts oi General Quarter sessions. Orphans Courts and per- 
haps other courts in other parts of the State. In does not appear that an 
Orphans Court was ever oganized in Butler Count)^ But a Court of General 
Quarter sessions was organized and at its session held May loth, 1803, fixed 
and defined the boundaries of all the townships in the county. This Court 
did not cut much of a figure in the judicial business of the County and the 
law of its establishment was soon thereafter repealed. Its jurisdiction was 
limited and inferior. 

From the establishment of the various Courts above mentioned in 1803, 
until 1809 John Reily who was Clerk of all these Courts and as well Recor- 
der of the county, held his office in a small log building situated just outside 
of the south wall of the old fort and a short distance south of the present 
site of the United Presbyterian Church. The Clerks and Recorder's office 
were thence removed to the south room in the old Reily two story frame 
building on the east side of the public square and were continued there with 
Mr. Reily in office until the year 1S24 when they were removed into build- 
ings erected for their purpose in the Court House square, and there remained 
until removed into the commodious rooms in which they are now located in 
the Court House. 

The Courts were held in the Torrence Tavern only one year and then 
were transferred to a frame building within the old fort which had been used 
by the officers of the garrison as a mess room. It was elevated upon wooden 
blocks some ten feet above the ground and furnished a very desirable shelter 
for hogs and other animals. The judges seat consisted of a platform cou- 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 211 

striicted of unplaned boards. The old lort magazine building was used for 
a jail. 

The first public building erected on the square was a jail. It was built 
of hmestone obtained from the river, was 33 by 22 feet, two stories high and 
cost $1600 and was erected in 1806. The next year another stone building 
33 ^y 30 feet two stories high was erected by the County Commissioners for 
the accommodation of the jailor at a cost of $1,690. The upper story of this 
building over the jailers apartments was fitted up for the Courts and the 
sessions ot the various courts were held there from the year iSio until the 
year 181 7. This building is said to have been neither artistic in appearance 
or convenient in use. 

On the 20th day of November 1S13, the County Commissioners con- 
tracted wdth John E. Scott to furnish all of the materials and erect a brick 
Court House building according to plan and drawings furnished and to com" 
plete the same ready for occupancy in the year of 1816 for the sum of $g,ooo. 
Scott lost $1,000 on the contract. The Legislature passed a law authorizing 
the Commissioners to pay to him the $1,000 and which they did. The 
Courts were transferred to this Court House from the old stone building in 
the year 18 17. The arrangement of the rooms in the building proving to be 
inconvenient and too small for the use of the county, the Couiit)^ Commis" 
sioners in the year 1836 contracted with W. H. Bartlett to remodel the build' 
ing which was done according to plans furnished and at a cost of $15,919, 
and that building as remodeled was continued in use for the Court until torn 
down in the year 1888, to give place to the present commodious structure. 

In the ye:>r 1820 the Commissioners contracted with Pierson Sayre to 
erect of brick two one story office buildings in the square in a line with the 
front of the Court House at a cost of $2,486, and they were completed and 
occupied in the year 1822. In the year 1836 an addition was built to the 
one on the west side of the Court House and that building raised to two 
stories at a cost of $1500. The next year the building east of the Court 
House had a similar addition annexed to it, and the structure raised to two 
stories at a cost of $1,820. The building east of the Court House was occu- 
pied by the Probate Court and County Clerk's offices and the one on the 
west side for the offices of the County Auditor, Recorder, Trt^asurer and 
■County Commissioners. 

Without further detail, suffice it to say, that these buildings afforded 
such conveniences for the Courts and public offices as were usual in other 
•counties of the state, and were in the line of progress from those of the early 
pioneer days. 

In the year 1885 an act was passed by the Ohio Legislature, authorizing 
the issue of $200,000 bonds of the county for the purpose of creating a fund 
and empowering the Commissioners of the county- to erect a new Court 
House building, and providing for the appointment by the Judge of the 



212 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

Court of Common Pleas ot the County of a building committee of three free- 
holders to assist the Commissioners, Clerk, Sheriff and Probate Judge in 
the adoption of a plan and in the erection of the building. In the year 1887 
another act of the I^egislature was passed authorizing the issuing of an ad- 
ditional $90,000 of county bonds for the purpose of completing und furnish- 
ing the Court House. The money was all expended for these purposes. 
The building was erected and the structure is commodious, is well heated 
and ventilated, "iDUt it is not well arranged and adopted to the purposes for 
which it was erected. Its architecture is a half century behind the age. It 
is to be regretted that better iudgement was not exercised in the adoption of 

a plan of building. Richardson of Massachusetts, the ranking 

architect of the world, at that time, cor descended to furnish drawings tor the 
house, but his artistic accomplishments w'ere so far beyond the intelligence 
and comprehension of a majority ot the committee that his plan was un- 
continently thrust aside in favor of the old time copy of other structures 
prophesied by the Toledo brick-layers. Hence the city of Hamilton has in 
its midst a combination of stone and other materials in ordinarily old- 
fashioned form, instead of a building that would have been a crtdit to the 
progress of the age, and a cause of pride and rejoicing on the part of our 
posterity at their centennial in 1991. 

Under the provisions of the constitution adopted by the people in 1851, 
our Courts now consist of the Probate Court, the Common Please and Circuit 
Courts. The vSupreme Court of the State is no longer perambulatory as in 
former days, but it is permanently held at the Capitol of the State. The bar 
as part ot the Court is entitled to notice in this constitution. 

William Corry was the first lawyer who opened an office in Hamilton. 
He is said to have been a man of ability, but he continued in the practice of 
his profession only a few years and then retired to a farm where he spent 
the remainder of his life. In the early days of this century many eminent 
jurists and lawyers attended the courts of this county. Amongst them, 
Judge David K. Este, Nicholas Longworth, Joseph S. Benhani, Benjamin 
Callett, Ethan Stone, Thomas R. Rass and Judge John McLean. And at a. 
later day John Woods, William Bebb, Thomas Cormie, Jesse Cormie, Elijah 
Vance, Ezekial Walker, John B. Weller, Eewis D. Campbell, Henry Stan- 
berry. Then following Judge Josiah Scott. Judge James Clark, N. C Mc- 
Farland, Thomas Moore and Thomas Millikm the latter three of whom are 
living and yet in the practice. 

The members of the bar now residing in Hamilton and engaged in act- 
ive practice, alphabetically arranged are : Allen Andrews, Benj. W. Baker, 
Edgar A. Belden, Phihp G. Berry, M. O. Burns, W. O. Campbell, Stephen 
Crane, P. C. Conklin, S. Z. Gard, WiUiam S. Giffen, F. T. Hammerle, R. P. 
Hargitt. E. E. Hull, Alex F. Hume, Ed. H. Jones, Henry L. Krauth, W. H. 
Harr, P. B. Holly, J. W. Meckley, B. R. Millikin, Thomas Millikin, Thomas 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON. O. 



213 



Moore H L. Morev, J. E. Morey, Clarence Murphy, James E- Neil, Jno F. 
Neilan W L. Petr.e, David Pierce, Eugene C. Pociey, Isaac Robertson, W. 
C Shepherd, John C. Slayback, Culla J. Smith, Jesse C Smith, B. F. Thomas, 
f'. VanDerveer, I. M. Warwick, Aaron Wesco, James P. Whitmore, Nelson 
Williams and Isreal Williams. 

Whilst It is true that Courts are proverbially conservative, nevertheless 
in this progressive, pushing country they have in a measure to keep up with 
the spirit of the age. The demands of business n ethods cause the Courts 
to deviate from precedent and to keep m line with the general progjess of 
events Thus the charming simplicity and directness of the proceedure ot 
the Courts of the pioneer days. When principle was dominant m the find- 
ings and judgements of the Courts, has give way to circumlocution and sub- 
terfuge in manv instances, to avoid the effect of a decision upon principle. 
Political and business influences cause the decisions of our Courts, often- 
times to be strained and artificial, instead of direct and natural asm the 
pioneer days. But such abuses and improprieties it is thought will m due 
time correct themselves. It is to be hoped that such will be the case and 
that withinlthe next centennial period our Courts may acquire such position 
as to command the respect and reverence of the people. 



(JV' 



A-U"-^ 




iiiiilllllli«if[«ii"™«"'""'"''''''''''""'''"'™"""''in™«^ 




Fl'BLIC I.IHRARV, 



PART IV. 

HI^nVEILTOlNr: 

IN 

Ihe ^War, literature, Statesmanship 
/^ Political iJrifLuence. 



HKTVYIL-TOrS, OHIO. 




DAILY DEMOCRAT BUIILIDNG. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



217 



HAMILTON IN LITERATURE- 



BY DR. MIIJ.IKEN. 




AMILTON has at no time during the past Century period, 
been regarded in the light of a Hterary center— outside of the 
vSchools and Academies, no organized efforts at hterary accom- 
plishments have prevailed, unless the ordinary debating and 
social clubs that now and then sprang up and after an eme- 
pheral existence disappeared, shall be regarded in that light. 
The temporary corruscation produced in this manner can 
scarcely be said to have a place worthy of notice in comment 
on qualities of the pioneer literature or in the scholastic incu- 
bation tVat is suppposed to precede the birth of a literary spirit in the people. 
Whilst it is true that a sufficiency of literary accomplishment has not exis- 
ted to give the citizens of Hamilton the attributes usually deemed necessary 
to characterize the existence ot a literary guild, it is true that the people who 
have lived in this community during the past hundred years, have many of 
them been possesed of considerable literary accomplishme-.ts and many of 
them have had lasting influence upon the minds of the people. Captain John 
Cleves Symmes author of the Theory ot Concentric^pheres--(that is, that 
the globe is hallow and is inhabit^bl^Ithin)- as an author prepared and 
.published a book on the subject containing much originality of thought, and 
a great deal of ingenious logic in the advocacy of his unique theory. 
'. James Mg Bride who has been, denominated the historian of the Miami Val- 
ley whilst not a writer of prominence in the production of books was one of 
the most accurate and painstaking collectors of facts that ever lived in the 
State. At his death he left collections of facts concerning the prehistoric and 
current history of the Great Miami Valley that have never received at the 
hands of the public that recognition to which their merit entitles them. Some 
portions of his facts have been compiled and published in books, but a vast 
quantity ofvaluable material of his collection as yet remain untouched for 
use of the future historian. He published one book in support of his friend 
Symme's theory of Concentric Spheres, but the people were not then in a 
frame of mind to seriously consider the subject and it suffered oblivion, as did 
the production of Symmes through indifference ot the reading public. 

William Dean Howells the celebrated author in his boyhood days was a 
resident with his parents in this city and received a portion of his education 
in its public schools and obtained a part of his literary training in his father's 



>: 



^ 



2l8 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OP HAMILTON, O. 

printing and publishing office. The scene of The Boys Home regarded by 
many as the very best book has been written by him, was laid in Hamilton. 

So graphic and picturesque are many of the scenes depicted, that the book in 
itself on reading it becomes a living reality to our older citizens and causes 
them as it were, to again live over their own boy-hood days. Whilst Howells 
cannot be said to be to our Manor born, and it is even true that he had re- 
moved from our midst before becoming crowned with his literary laurels, we 
nevertheless hold his brilliant triumph in the world of letters, as shedding a^ 
least a gentle ray upon our own literary escutcheon and shall ever hold in 
proud recollection the fact of his boyhood residence and fellowship with us. 

Two young men brothers were born, reared and educated together in Hamil. 
ton, and upon arriving at the age of manhood together migrated to the Pacific 
Coast, and there devoted themselves to literary pursuits. The one Theodore 
Hittell becoming the compiler of the Statutes of the State of California and 
the author of the valuable law papers. The other John S. Hittell for years 
being editor of a leading newspaper, then the author of an exceedingly valu- 
able history of that State and as well of many other valuable literary publi- 
cations of much distinction. Although a long time gone iVom our midst may 
we not claim at least a pride in the fact that these distinguished authors were 
at one time with us and of us. 

Another gentleman of recognized ability in the line of literary productions 
is the Rev. James P. McLean the Archaeologist. He is author of the follow- 
hig published works "Archeaology of Butler County," "A manual of the An. 
tiquity of Man," "Mastadon, Mammoth and Man," 'Fingals Cave of Staffa," 
and has been an extensive contributor to the publications of the Smithsonian 
Institution. His writings evince much industry and research, and justly have 
a high standing among readers who appreciate the course of thought con lin- 
ed therein. David Christy early in the present Century resided here and pub- 
lished a newspaper for some time. He devoted much time to the acquisition 
of knowledge concerning the Paleontology of South Western Ohio and pub" 
lislied nunirrous pamphlets giving the results of his investigations; and he 
held an important standing amongst the Geologists and Paleotologists of that 
period. Subsequently Mr. Christy became the author of Cotton is J\i>io^ a 
mark of much political significance at the time of its publication, and gave to 
the author much prominence among politicians, especially in the Southern 
States. Mr. Christy was also the author of other publications of repute in 
his day. He has been dead many years. 

In the line of Poesy Mrs. Jane Cornin, who resided here nearly all her life 
stood alone among authors, she being the only author of a volume of poems, 
who ever resided in Hamilton. Many years ago she phblished an unpreten- 
tious little volume containing some gems of recognized ability and the reading 
of which gave great pleasure to her intimate associates and pioneer friends, 
who were the more able to appreciate the genuineness of their worth. She too 



THK CENTHNNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



219 



has passed to the beyond, but her memory is still cherished in grateful remem- 
brance by those of the citizens of Hamilton who knew her exellent qualities 
of heart. 

Among the distinguished temperance Orators and Authors of the present 
day, few if any have a more exalted standing than our fellow citizen I^ou. J. 
Beauchamp. A printer first, then a newspaper writer, then a temperance lec- 
turer, and then an author of temperance literature, are the gradations of a 
young man who is known and highly esteemed from Canada to Texas and 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He has by industry and perseverance acqui- 
red a position in the front rank of Orators and Authors in his chosen profes- 
sion. He is yet a young man, with the world before him and it is hoped that 
his career so auspiciously begun will continue to redound to the great credid 
of our city. 

Another gentleman now a resident of Hamilton who has attained a just di- 
stinction as an author, is James W. See, the author of the Chardal Ivetters 
"The American Machinist," and other publications. His lines of ;nvestiga- 
tion and thought are so characteristic and distinct from the ordinary course 
of literary performances, as to place him in a citegory peculiary to himself, 
and he may properly be termed the usfeul author in literature. His writings 
relate mainly to the practical affairs of life, and it is remarkable with what vi- 
vacity he treats of the most abstruse and difficult of details. His writings are 
a boon to the mechanic and the artisan, an dare highly appreciated by the gen- 
eral reader for their merit as literary productions. 

In the form of newspaper writers and authors, Hamilton is not without 
distinction and has possessed among its citizens many writers who excited 
much influence. In the limit prescribed for this article it is neither desirabla 
nor practicable to more than mention a few of the names of newspaper editors 
and writers who have been connected with the press of Hamilton. The fol- 
lowing names are mentioned as containing c nly a partial hst; John Woods, 
Lewis D. Campbell. Taylor Wtbster, W. (?1 Howells, William R. Kinder, 
James Barker, D. W. McClung, Miner Milliken, John A. Cockerell now with 
the New York Herald, Valentine Chase, John C. Lewis, Frank H. Scobey,. 
Stephen Crane, C. M. Campbell. John K. Aydelotte and Frank Whitehead. 



> 




MIAMI LNIVEKSirV. JViiW BJlLDiNG 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O 



HAMILTON IN THE WARS. 




BY HENRY I.. MORICY. 



AMILTON was a Fort before it was a village. Its location as 
so often happens, was alike favorable for a fortress and a 
cit5'. Given a theatre of war in Northwestern Ohio, with a 
base at Cincinnati, the open gate-way of the Mill Creek Val- 
ley will make Hamilton an important military station. 

FORT HAMILTON. 

On Sept. 17th, 1 79 1, a detachment of Gen. St. Clair's army 
under the command of Col. William Darke, reached the 
banks of the Miami River near this city, in its march against 
the hostile Indians. They encamped on the prairie below the city, until the 
arrival, a day or two afterward, of Gen. St. Clair, who had been detained at 
Fort Washington ; upon his arrival the site of the fort was selected and the 
work o' erection began. According to the most authentic accounts the fort 
was located on the river bank, and extended from Market street south to the 
site of the United Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Court and Water 
streets. The work was a stockade, whose walls were about one thousand 
feet long, with bastions, store-houses, magazines and barracks for the officers 
and men. The magazine was made of squared timbers, and stood near the 
site of the present United Presbyterian Church. Having served its warlike 
purpose, it was for many years after the organization of Butler countj-, used 
as the county jail. The officer's mess room, which was located near the cor- 
ner of Front and High Streets, was a commodious frame building, perhaps 
the most pretentious in the fort. Like the powder magazine, its purpose in 
war having been served, it was used for some years as the court house, oc- 
casionally for religious services and other public meeetings. 

No unusual incident attended the building of the Fort. On its com- 
pletion it was named Fort Hamilton, in honor of Alexander Hamilton, thg 
distinguished Secretary of the Treasury. 

On the 4th of October 1791, St. Clair, leaving a small force under Capt. 
John Armstrong to garrison the Fort, set out with his little army of 2,300 men, 
upon his campaign which ended thirty days later in the disaster at Fort Re- 
covery. 

They forded the Miami River at a point a little north of the present 
junction railroad bridge, and marched over the hills in a northerly direction. 
The names of the creaks, Two Mile, Four Mile, Seven and Ten Mile, 
indicate the distance from Fort Hamilton, at which the army crossed each of 
them. 



C^^ 



222 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

Gen. Harmer had warned St. Clair that his defeat was certain; and no 
wonder. The army had been hastily thrown together. It lacked dicipline, 
coherency, Commissary and Quartermaster supplies, and indeed all things 
necessary to efficiency, and so rushed to destruction, Gen. Wayne after- 
ward required three years to accomplish what Gen. St. Clair'undertook in as 
many months. A few days before the fatal battle, a'large body of the militia 
deserted, and Col. Hamtranck with the best regiment, was sent back to pro- 
tect the supplies from being plundered. 

The army reduced to 1300 men was attacked at daylight Nov. 4, 1791, 
and before 10 o'clock, a slaughter rarely equaled took place. 

Thirty- eight commissioned officers were killed on the battlefield and 
thirty-one were wounded, and five hundred and ninety-three private soldiers 
and non-commissioned officers were killed, and two hundred and fourteen 
wounded. Among the officers killed was Gen. Richard Butler, in whose 
honor Butler county is named. On November 6th, 1791, Gen. St. Clair re- 
entered Fort Hamilton with the remnant of his army, and on the 8th day of 
the same month, they marched to Fort Washington, at Cincinnati. The ad- 
vance from Ft. Hamilton required thirty days, the retreat was accomplished 
in two days 

Until the spring of 1793, Ft. Hamilton remained under the command of 
Capt. Jno. Armstrong of the regular army of the United States. He had 
served under Gen. Josiah Harmar, in 1790, in his expedition against the 
Northwestern Indians. He had proved himself in that service to possess 
great courage, endurance and resources. He seems also to have been un- 
usually systematic and careful. He kept a diary during the campaign, 
which has afforded valuable historical material for later writers. 

On the 7th of October 1793, Gen. Wayne began his march from Cincin- 
nati, and on the next day reached Ft. Hamilton. Fully warned by the failures 
of Harmer and St. Clair, Gen. Wayne had made the most complete arrange- 
ments for a vigorous and conclusive campaign. He would accept no short 
enlistments, and refused to move until his Commissary and Quartermaster's 
department had been made completely efficient. His troops had already 
been drilled for more than a year in all the evolutions necessary for Indian 
warfare. During the autumn and winter of 92-93. they had been in camp at 
Legion ville, 19 miles below Pittsburg ; and the summer and early autumn of 
'93 had been spent in the neighborhood of Cincinnati. Nothing had been 
omitted to give the highest efficiency to his famous legion, and every move- 
ment was made by him with a deliberation and care, which indicated that he 
had come to stay. On the 9tti of October he moved from Ft. Hamilton, but 
proceeded by a different route from that of St. Clair. He crossed the iMiami 
river above the town of Hamilton, and for the most part followed the valley 
of the Seven Mile Creek to Eaton. It was not until the 20th of the fol owing 
August, that he fought the decisive battle of "Fallen Timbers," which broke 
the Indian confederacy, and secured to the United States the undisputed 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 223 

possession of the northwestern frontier. A year later, namely August 3d, 
1795, a treaty was made at Greenville which terminated forever the most 
formidable Indian conspiracy that has ever confronted the United States. 

From this period forward, the military use of Fort Hamilton ceased, and 
the Fort was abandoned. 

Capt John Armstrong was succeeded in command by Major Michael 
Rudolph. He seems to have been a harsh and severe commander, and has 
an unfavorable report in the history and tradition of those times. Among 
other things he !is remembered for causing the execution of three deserters, 
whose pardon had been issued by Gen. Wilkinson, but had not been received 
at the Fort. It was felt that he had eagerly hastened the executions, in or- 
der to arrest the tendency to desert, which has always manifested itself so 
strongly in the army upon our frontiers. It is even said that he choosed to 
resign rather than stand his trial before a court-martial. Tradition has it 
that he returned to Virginia, and that subsequently he was captured and 
hanged by Algerine pirates. Between the deieat of St. Clair and the ad- 
vance of Wayne's army, there were occasional murders by the Indians in 
the neighborhood of Fort Hamilton, but nothing that could be dignified 
with the name of a battle. On the 17th of December 1794, only five months 
after the victory of Gen. Wayne, the town of Hamilton was laid out and 
opened for settlers. 

Upon the advance of Wayne's army in 1793, Major Johnathan Cass, the 
father of the distinguished statesman and orator of Michigan, Gen. Lewis 
Cass, was placed in command of the Fort, and so far as is known he so con- 
tinued until the fort was abandoned. Many of the soldiers of the armies of 
St. Clair and Wayne, and of those who were employed in connection with 
the armies, settled in Hamilton and vicinity and formed an important element 
of the early society. Among these a few were so conspicuous as to merit 
notice in this brief history. 

John Riley had been a soldier in the war of the revolution, and, when a 
mere boy, had participated in the battles of Guilford Court House, Camden 
and Eutaw Springs. He was a teacher in Columbia, now part of Cincinnati, 
but was one of the volunteer force that went to the scene of St. Clair's defeat 
in January 1792, to bury the dead, — that were abandoned upon the battle 
field. The weather was intensely cold and deep snow lay on the ground, so 
that the work was imperfectly done. In 1803 Mr. Reily settled in Hamilton, 
where he lived until his death in 1850. He filled numerous positions of pub- 
lic trust, and is remembered for his strong individuality, his high sense of 
honor, and his fidelity to every engagement and obligation. In these re- 
spects no man in the county has ever excelled him. 

Brice Virgin who was Captain of the volunteer company formed at 
North Bend for burying the dead at Ft. Recovery, settled at Princeton in 
this county, and spent his life there. 



224 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, Q 

Thomas Irwin who was a soldier in Gen. Harmer's expedition of 1790, 
and also in St. Clair's army, afterward settled in Middletown where he died 
in the year 1847. He was also a soldier in the war of 181 2. 

Joel Collins who served in the Indian wars and served as Captain in the 
army against Great Britain in 18 12-14, settled at Oxford, where he died in 
the year i860, at a very advanced age, after an honorable and useful life. 

Isaac Paxton was a soldier of Gen. Wayne's army, serving three years, 
and afterward lived in Hamilton where he died in 1861. The brothers, Rob- 
ert and Wm. McClellan, were typical pioneers ; and Robert especially lived 
a life of continuous adventure and danger. He was one of the famous scouts 
of Gen. Wayne, and one of the party of Lewis and Clark, that crossed the 
Rocky Mountains in 1804. He never seems to have settled anywhere, until 
age and infirmity compelled him to ceace his roving and adventurous career. 
His adventures form one of the romances of frontier life. He is perhaps the 
most striking figure in the lives of the Pioneers by McDonald and McBride, 
and he has been immortalized by Washington Irving. William McClellan 
.settled at Hamilton, and for eight years was Sheriff of Butler county, where 
he died in the year 1827. 

Brigadier John Wingate died near Symmes Corner in the year 1851. 
He came to the western country with Gen. Wayne's army, took a brave and 
conspicuous part in the battle of Fallen Timbers, and alter the treaty of 
Greenville returned to Fort Hamilton and settled there. He served in the 
war of 1 81 2 against Great Britain. 

Matthew Hueston and John Sutherland were both connected with the 
Commissary Department of Wayne's army. After the close of the Indian 
wars, they both became citizens of Butler county, where they spent the re- 
mainder of their lives. 

The following li.st of names of soldiers buried in Greenwood cemetery is 
taken from the history of Butler county : 

Soldiers of the Revolution and Indian Wars — Isaac Hammond was in 
the battle of Brandywine. 

John Reily — Eutaw Springs, Camden and Guilford Court House. 

Pierson Sayre, John Wingate. — Revolution and Indian Wars. 

Joseph McMaken, Isaac Hull, William McClellan, and John Sutherland, 
— Indian Wars. 

Soldiers of 181 2 — Robt. Rosencrans, Jacob Garver, John G. Rose bone, 
John P. Reynolds, John Pierce, Thomas Stone, Isaac Falconer, John Caldwell, 
Matthew Hueston, Capt. John Cleves Symmes, Capt. Abner Torbert, Dr- 
Dan'l Millikin, Wm. H. Wilcox, Vincent Cohee, William Clements, John 
Freeman, John Byers, Edward Brown, William Dye, Alexander Delorac, 
Alexander Smiley, John Vinnedge, Samuel Millikin, Wilkins Warwick^ 
Thomas Sinnard, Dr. Jacob Lewis, N. S. Smith, F. Perry, Robert Clements, 
John Woods, Isaiah Vale, Isaac Paxton, William Shirley,JJohn Crane, James 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 225 

B. Thomas, Frederic Devou, Major James Patchell. 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

Two companies were formed at Hamilton to answer to the call of Presi- 
dent Polk upon the state of Ohio, for three regiments, as its quota in the war 
with Mexico. Appeals for volunteers were made at a public meeting, and 
in one day a company was enrolled, and went into camp in the sycamore 
grove, which then skirted the river below the present Junction Railroad. 

John B. Weller who had served in Congress from 1839 to 1845 was 
chosen Captain. James George who became Colonel of the 2nd Minnesota 
in the war of the Rebellion was chosen First Lieutenant, and Oliver 
Weatherby Second Lieutenant. They went direct by the canal to Carop 
Washington, and were attached to the First Ohio Regiment, as Company I_ 
In the organization of this regiment, Captain Weller was made Lieutenant 
Colonel. First Lieut. George was advanced to Captain, and Second Lieu- 
tenant Weatherby to First Lieutenant ; William Wilson was elected Second? 
and Johnathan Richmond, Third Lieutenant. Ferdinand VanDeveer, who 
became a Brigadier General in the war of the Rebellion now the Judge of 
our Common Pleas Court, was appointed Orderly Sergeant. 

The following observation is found in a local histor)'. 

"Company I contained about thirteen young lawyers of this city and it 
was said by a local wag, that during their absence, Hamilton was more 
peaceable than it had ever been before." 

Upon its organization and equipment, the First Regiment was ordered 
to New Orleans. Here it encamped on the field where the British were de- 
feated by Gen. Jackson in 18 15. From there they embarked for the hostile 
shores of Mexico, and landed at Brazos Santiago at the mouth of the Rio 
Grande. 

From there they joined Gen. Taylor, on the march to Monterey. Lieu- 
tenant Wetherby having resigned, Sergeant Van Deveer was chosen to fill the 
vacancy. 

This company participated in the battle of Monterey, Sept. 19, 20, and 
2 1 St, 1846. Captain George was wounded in this battle and resigned, and 
Lieut. VanDeveer was elected to his place, and commanded the company 
during the remainder of its service. A dozen members of Company I were 
wounded at the battle of Monterey, and three, John Pearson, Oscar Brehme 
and Samuel Freeman were killed, and their bodies now rest in one grave in 
Greenwood Cemetery. 

This Company, known as "Butler Boys No. i,"" at the expiration of its 
service, was received with every manifestation of joy by the people at home. 

Its only survivor is its distinguished Commander General and Judge 
Ferdinand VanDeveer, — Col. Weller died in New Orleans in 1878. 

Another Hamilton Company for the Mexican War, known as Butler 
Boys No. 2 was recruited by Capt. Wm. P. Young, and attached to the 



226 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

Fourth Regiment, commanded by Col Brough, brother of John Brough, who 
was Governor of Ohio during the War of the Rebellion. Capt Young be- 
came Major of the Regiment on its organization. They went by river to 
New Orleans and thence to Metamoras, and Vera Cruz, and took an honor- 
able part in the war. On their return home at the end of their service, they 
were welcomed with demonstrations of joy in the various localities from 
which they had enlisted. 

The following soldiers of the Mexican War were buried in Greenwood 
Cemetery at Hamilton : 

Daniel McCleary, William D. Young, Joseph H. Garrison, Wil'iam H- 
Sinnard, William H. Wilson. James Lenahan is buried in the C"tholic 
■ Cemetery below Hamilton. John HoUowajs Oscar Boehme, J. S. Freeman, 
John Pearson. The last three named in one grave. John G. Denzer, 
James Moore, Cicero Birch, John L,. W^ilkins, Peter Leflar, James B. Milli- 
kin. 

When the assault on Ft. Sumpter was announced, the people of Hamil- 
ton, without distinction of party rcsjDonded with a zeal and unanimity that 
placed them in harmony with the loyal states. Upon the receipt of the 
President's proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers, a meeting was held, 
speeches made, and resolutions adopted, expressive of serious and determined 
patriotism. 

Two regiments were recruited and organized at Hamilton : the Thirty- 
fifth and sixty-ninth, and a large number of detachments went out into other 
regiments, or performed independent service. The first company organized 
was the Jackson Guards, under Capt. J. B. Bruck, which was attached as 
Company K. to the First Ohio Regiment, and which was organized as early 
as April iSth, 1861. The Hamilton Guards was organized by Capt. Ross- 
man and went to Columbus on the 21st, and became Company F. 3d. O. V. I. 
The University Rifles, composed mostly of students of Miami University, 
enlisted for three months, and ccmmanded by Capt. Ozro J. Dodds, were en- 
camped on the Fair Grounds at Hamilton for a short time before going to the 
front. 

The Butler pioneers under Capt. Wm. Smith, and an Infantry Com- 
pany under Capt. Humback, and the Hamilton Rifles under Capt. W. H. 
Miller, were rapidly recruited, and accepted in the United States service- 
About forty German citizens of Hamilton became members of Company B. 
9tli Ohio Regiment at Camp Harrison. A cavalry company was recruited 
at Hamilton by Minon Millikin, who afterwards became Colonel of the i.st 
Ohio Vol. Cavalry, and an Infantry Company by Capt. John I. Earhart. An 
organization was formed of young men from fifteen to nineteen years old, 
konwn as the Young Guard. A Military Company was formed by W. H. H. 
Russell and others which drilled at Jacob's Hall. 

The "Reeder Cadets," consisting of young men fifteen to eighteen years 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 227 

old, was organized by Capt. Nathaniel Reeder. and officered as fololws : 
Charles Potter, Captain ; Thomas Shaffer, First Lieutenant : F. A. Lighter. 
Second Lieutenant; and Joseph Wyman, Orderly Sergeant. 

Dr. Mallory began raising a company and had forty-two names enrolled. 
Chas. H. Murray also engaged in recruiting a cavalry company, and the 
military spirit became general among the people. 

The thirty-fifth Regiment was composed largely of Hamilton men, and 
almost entirely of Butler county men. The following is a list of its regi- 
mental officers: Col. Ferdinand VanDeveer ; Lt. Cols. Chas. L- H. Long, 
Henry V. N. Boynto n ; Major Jos. L. Budd ; Adjutants, Geo. B. Wright, John 
"VanDeveer, James E. Harris ; Surgeon, Perkins A. Gordon ; Asst. Surgeons. 
Francis D. Morris, Chas. A. Wright, A. H. Landis ; Chaplain, John Woods. 

This regiment was engaged in the battles of: Corinth, Miss.; Siege of 
Perryville, Ky. ; TuUahoma— Campaign, Tenn ; Chicamaugua, Ga. ; Mission 
Ridge, Tenn. ; Bussard Roost, Ga. ; Atlanta Campaign, Ga. ; Dalton, Ga. ; 
Resaca, Ga. ; Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. ; Pine Mountain, Ga. ; Pine Knob. Ga. ; 
Kenesaw Mountain, (General Assault) Ga. ; Peachtree Creek, Ga. 

The sixty-ninth Ohio Regiment was also organized at Hamilton. It en- 
tered the service in the early part of 1862, and was assigned to provost duty 
in Tennessee, under Andrew Johnson, then Military Governor of that state. 

Its first Colonel was Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, who resigned on August 
9th, 1862, and was susceeded successively by Colonels W. B. Cassilly and M. 
F. Moore. 

It had other Regimental Officers as follows : Lt. Co2 s. Chas. L. Gano. 
Geo. F. Elliott, J. H. Brigham ; Majors, EH J- Hickox, Jas. L- Hanna, Lewis 
E. Hicks ; Adjutants, Richard H. Cunningham, W. S. Mead. Thos. B. Hoff- 
man, Jos eph W. Boynton ; Regt. Quartermasters, Fred B. Landis, Levi E- 
Chenoweth. 

This regiment took part in the following battles : Gallatin, Tenn. ; Stone 
River, Tenn. ; Mission Ridge, Tenn. ; Resaca, Ga. (including Punkin Vine 
Creek ;) Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. ; Marietta, Ga. ; Chatahoochie, River, Ga. ; 
Peach Tree Creek, Ga. ; Atlanta. Ga. ; Siege of Jonesboro, Ga. ; Bentonville, 
Ga. ; Sherman's March to the Sea. 

Many citizens of Hamilton enlisted and served in other organizations, a 
considerable number in the 5th Ohio Cavalry, and in the 83rd and 93rd Ohio 
Regiments. 

The Morgan Raid called into existence a number of Hamilton organiza- 
tions for the purpose of resisting the invasion of our state. 

The capture of Gen. Morgan is an honor that has been warmly contest- 
ed, but it has not been successfully disputed that the honor rightfully belongs 
to our townsman Major Geo. W. Rue of the 9th Ky. Cavalry. 

The surrender of Lee, the fall of Richmond, and the end of the great re- 
bellion, was celebrated in Hamilton with great rejoicings. 

The military spirit of the people has been maintained. 



.:- THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON. O, 

Such militan,- bodies as are usual in times of peace have been organized- 
Light Infantr>- Companies and Companies of the Ohio National Guards^ 
have existed here in a high state of dicipline and drill. 

The Juvenile Cadet Corps, an organization of boys from seven years up, 
has attained great proficiency in marching and drill, and has acquired a 
widely extended reputation. 

The Grand Army of the Republic, the Sons of A'eterans, and their kin- 
dred organizations, the Woman's Relief Corps, and Woman's Aid Society, 
are all in a flourishing condition. 

The sentiment of patriotism is inculcated in our children, and it needs 
only public peril to call them to arms in defense of their country- and her in- 
stitutions. Let us hope that they may be as conspicuous for their civic 
virtues, as their fathers have been for militarv services. 




LIBRARY 
OF THE MI^MI UNIVERSITY 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY Ol- HAMILTON. O. 229 

STATESMANSHIP AND POLITICAL INFLUENCE- 

V>Y W. H. HARR 

IN point of political influence and statesmanship, the citizens of Hamilton 
during the past one hundred years have exercised their full share as 
compared with the people of other communities of like size in this state. In 
the Constitutional Convention of 1S02, John Reily was a member from Ham- 
ilton County, the territory constituting the County ot Butler then forming a 
part of Hamilton County. In the Constitutional Convention of 1.85 1, Elija 
Vance was a member and acted as one of the Vice Prtsidents. and in the 
Constitutional Conventional of 1873, Lewis D. Campbell was a member and 
Vice President. \'ance and Campbell were respective able delegates and 
very influential in the deliberations of the bodies of which they were mem- 
bers. 

John Woods, Taylor Webster, John B. Weller, Lewis D. Campbell, 
Henry L. Morey and James E. Campbell, citizens of Hamilton, have repre- 
sented the Congressional District in which Hamilton is situated, in Congress 
and have exerted a lull share of influence upon National Legislation. It 
will not be insidious to say that during the controversy concerning the re- 
peal of the Missouri compromise, and the exciting legi-slation immediately 
preceding the rebellion. Few, if any men in Congress, stood superior to 
Lewis D. Campbell. He was abreast of such eminent patriots as Thadeus 
Stevens, Anson Burlingame, Benj. F. Wade, and Zachriah Chandler. The 
terms of theseveraTTnembers in Congress were as follows : John Woods, 
four years : Taylor Webster, two years ; John B. Weller, six years; Lewis D. 
Campbell twelve years ; Henry L. More}', six years : James E. Campbell, six 
years ; John B. Weller and Lewis D. Campbell each served as Minister to 
Mexico. Wm. Bebb and James E. Campbell each served one term as Gover- 
nor of the State. John Woods served as Auditor of the State for the period 
of six years to the general approval of the people and to the great benefit 
of the State. The system of accounts established in the Auditor's office 
by him have never been changed, the same having been found adequate to 
the increased demands of that department. Mark C. McMaken now living 
an honored life at 92 years of age. Joseph J. McMaken his son, Lewis D. 
Campbell, Thos. Moore, William H. Campbell, Neal C. McFarland, E. G. 
Rathbone and J as. ^ ^Neal have at different times been members in high 
standing of the Ohio Legislature, the latter attained pre-eminence in the 
speakership of the house of Representatives. 

John M. Millikin, served with great credit one term as Treasurer of 
State. 



230 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



In the days of the old Whig and Democratic Parties, the Hamilton In- 
elligencer newspaper under the editorship of John Woods and Lewis D. 
Campbell was a party organ of much power and extended political authority. 

It would be beyond the purpose of this article to enter into detail more 
ully touching the statesmanship and political influence of citizens of Hamil- 
ton during the past, nevertheless it is not out of place to say in this connec- 
tion that the people of no city of equal size in the state can be said to have 
exerted so much authority over legislation and over the selection of candi- 
dates for important public offices as have the party representatives residing 
in this city. Many of those capable of exerting the most political power in 
emergencies, have never been candidates and have therefore been able to act 
independently, and free from selfish motives, and acting alone from patriotic 
considerations, have wielded an influence far greater than could otherwise 
have been the case. 




ox FORD FEMALE COLLEGE. 



PART V. 

ITS 

Trarisportation facilities, JYCanufaclures 

Be. 



HKTV^II-TON, OHIO. 




ISKAKL WILLIAMS. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 233 



HIGHWAYS. RAILROADS AND CANALS. 

ISRAEL WILLIAMS. 

AMONG the adv^antages that a communit}^ maj' be possessed of are the 
methods of travel in going to and from, and the means of transporta- 
tion of commodities to be acquired and those to be disposed of by the people. 

In these respects the city of Hamilton should be regarded as very 
favorably situated. 

All of the country roads leading into the city are turnpikes, aflfording 
the most convenient and ample means of neighborhood travel and traflSc. 
The Miami and Erie canal which connects the city of Toledo on lyake Erie 
with the city of Cincinnati on the River Ohio, affords an excellent means of 
transportation of freight to those cities and intermediate points. On ac- 
count of the cheap rates of freight charged to shippers on the canal, it has 
an important bearing upon the charges of freight made by competing rail- 
roads. The existence and continued usefulness of the canal is almost of 
vital importance to the local business interests of our citizens. 

The railroad facilities are extraordinary, they consist : 

I St. The Great Pan Handle system, comprising upwards of 7,000 miles 
of road under control of one management and permeating every portion of 
the United States, and with direct connections with means of communica- 
tion to all parts of the Commercial world. The great main line of the 
company's road leading from Cincinnati to Chicago passes through Hamilton, 
and hence it can be correctly said that we are brought through this means 
in touch with all the civilized world. 

Secondly : The Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad system whilg 
lacking the vastness in mileage possessed by the Pan Handle, is in its local 
bearings upon the interests uf our citizens of more direct importance than 
even the Pan Handle. Between this cit^'^ and Cincinnati, there are twenty- 
three passenger trains daily. This company with headquarters at Cincin- 
nati has independent lines leading by way of Hamilton to Toledo, Chicago 
and St. Louis and intermediate points, with connections with other lines, 
notably the Big Four, Baltimore and New York Central and Erie systems, 
all parts of the United States and beyond. 

By the means aforesaid, our citizens have every facility for travel and 
the transportation of commodities that can be desired or utilized by an in- 
telligent and enterprising community. 



THE CENNTENIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



235 



BUSINESS OTHER THAN MANUFACTUR. 



■Y T. G. BBm»T. 




AMIIyTON, with its transportation facilities and its close 
proximitj to Cincinnati, has within the last twenty years, 
developed large commercial and financial interests, and, while 
at an early time in its history, its being so near Cincinnati 
was deemed a detriment to its growth, this seeming draw- 
back has since proved to be one ofits chief aids to prosperity, 
in that it attracts business interests, which a large city, oa 
account of scarceity of room, is unable to retain and at the 
same time affords a close market for its products. 
The increase in the business interests of Hamilton during the past 
twenty years, has been study and substantial. There has been no "boom" 
and everything indicates a still greater increase in trade in the future. 

There are Eighteen Dry Goods stores in Hamilton, doing a yearly busi- 
ness of between $600,000 and $700,000. 

There are three National Banks each doing a prosperous business and 
each having a capital of $100,000. 

There are four Building and Loan Associations with an aggregate cap- 
ital of $4,000,000. By their aid many have been enabled to own their homes 
in Hamilton, who would not otherwise. 

There are published in this city, Two Daily, Three Weekly and Two 
Monthly newspapers and One German Weekly newspaper. 

There are Eighteen Churches, viz: one Baptist, one Episcopal, one 
Evangelical German Protestant, one Jewish, one lyUtheran, Three Meth- 
odist Episcopal, two Presbyterian, one Reformed, three Roman Catholic 
one Universalist and two United Brethren. 

There is a free circulating library, with upwards of 6,000 volumes and the 
number steadily increasing each year. Here can be found all the latest 
works of History, Travel, Fiction, &c., together with the leading magazines 
and newspapers of the country. 

Hamiiton has two organized brass bands, noted for their excellent music, 
two singing societies, two medical societies and a bar association. 

There are eight miles of Electric Street Railway, furnishing rapid 
transit to all parts of the city. 

Five patent medicine companies assist the doctors in relieving suffering 
humanity. 

The bar is composed of forty-nine attorneys, who in ability, honesty and 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



237 



caraful attention to business, are the peers of any in the State and are a 
credit to our city. They manage to take care of the property rights of our 
citizens, while twenty-seven eminent physicians with the aid of eleven drug- 
gists take care of our bodily ailments. 

There are six undertakers in Hamilton, all doing well. 

Our city has for many years been noted for furnishing the best domestic 
cigar in the country. The yearly sales in the city, by fifteen dealers and 
manufacturers being over $2,500,000. 

Eighty-three dressmakers and fourteen tailors with the assistance of 
eight milliners, eight hatters and thirty- seven shoe dealers managed to keep 
us clothed. 

Eleven hotels, twenty- sLx boarding hou.ses, thirteen restaurants and 
ninety-eight saloons furnish refreshments for the inner man. 

Eighteen real estate agents are ready at any time to sell you cheap 
property, while only thirteen agents can give you insurance. 

Of other industries in Hamilton, there are the following : 



Barber shops, 
Bakeries, 
Basket mfg's 
Beer bottlers 
Auctioneers 
Bending factories 
Blacksmith shops 
Book binders . 
Booksellers and 

Stationers . 
Brick layers 
Brick manuf's . 
Business colleges 
Carpenters and 

Builders . 
Carpet weavers 
Carpet dealers 
Clothiers . . 



20. Clothing renovators 3. Malsters 

15. Coal dealers . . 10. Marble works 

2. Confectioners . . 6. Mattress mf'g'r 

Contractors ... 8. Music teachers 



I. 
2. 

15- 
2. 

9- 
6. 

5- 
2. 

19- 
7- 
5. 
6. 



Daily Market . 
Dentists . . 
Feed stores . . 
Florists ... 
Furniture dealers 
Furnishing Goods 
Gas fitters . . . 
Hardware dealers 
Ice dealers . , 
Steam laundries 
Ivive stock dealers 
lyivery stables . 
lyocksmiths . . 



15. Painters 

7. Paper hangers 

6. Photographers 

3. Piano dealers 

6. Plasterers . . . 

12. Plumbers . . 

3. Pump Dealers 

4. Roofers . . . . 

2. Harness dealers . 

3. Slaughterhouses 

4 Stoves and tinware. 

1 1 . Wagon makers . 

2. Jewelers 

10. Wood dealers . . 



Evimber dealers 
Nearly every industry is represented in Hamilton. They all seem to 

prosper. Everybody appears to be contented and while our city can get along 

very well as it is, there is room and a hearty welcome for all others who may 

wish to dwell with us. 

There are three wholesale and eighty-six retail grocers, the retail 
The fruit and berry trade in Hamilton has assumed increased propor- 

grocers alone, doing a business of upwards of $500,000 yearly. 

tions. 




'8 





.lAMKS W. SKK. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 24I 



MllNUFflGTURES OF H/IMILTON. 



BY JAMES W, SEE, 



¥N every community of people the wants of that community are supplied 
by the merchant who buys in quantities. But the results of this com- 
merce efifect no change in the character of material handled. The merchant 
buys from abroad and retails at home. He brings no income from abroad. 

But certain articles of supply can not be bought abroad, but require 
to be manufactured to suit the wants of users. The shoeuiaker procures 
the leather and other materials and fabricates it into the shoe to fit the 
foot of his customer. The shoemaker is thus a manufacturer, and his art \ 

is a creative one. Under his creative hand material changes its form and 
▼alue, and he gives existence to an article that before had no existence. 
So also with the tailor, and the plow maker, and the wagon maker, and 
the blacksmith, and the carpenter. These manufacturers bring material 
from abroad and from it produce new things for home use. But they too 
fail to bring income from abroad. 

But the manufacturer, whatever line he may be working in, may 
eventually find that the things that he makes are of such special merit 
that there is a demand for them away from home, and quite likely he will 
extend his business until we finally find him bringing material from abroad, 
manufacturing it into new articles, and sending the new articles abroad, 
thus finding his market away from home; and we may in the end find that 
the outside markets have become so extensive as to cause him to give no 
further special attention to the home market. As a home manufacturer 
he advertises in the home newspapers and posts his bulletins upon tlie 
local boards, but his market grows upon him. He advertises in the news- 
papers of the world at large, and advances his banners of trade into all the 
marts of civilization. 

There are many manufacturers in Hamilton, and the space at the 
command of the present historian is limited and the embarrassing questioti 



:24- THE CENTENNIAL ANNI\'I:RSAKY OF HAMILTON. O. 

therefore presents itself: where shall the line be drawn ? Shall this history 
concern itself with ever>" manufacturer in Hau:ilton? If so the history is 
too big to be written. But the histon.' must be written, and ii has been 
determined that the line will be drawn to include only those manufacturing 
institutions whose principal market is away from home. It becomes the 
function of these establishments to send monej- abroad for raw material, 
put this material into newly created forms, and send the new creations 
abroad and bring back into the community much larger sums of money 
than were paid out for the material. This money is the profit of this 
community, and has built its streets, its houses, its public buildings, and 
has brought to it its population. This class of manufacturers creates the 
community, and the class of manufacturers not included in this history 
supply the local wants of this community but bring no money income from 
abroad. This history will therefore deal with those establishments whose 
principal market is found beyond the limits of Hamilton and beyond the 
Umits of the county. 

Having thus determined the scope of this histon.- it is decided to deal 
with each manufacturing establishment separately. A sur\-ey of the gen 
eral field exhibits a magnificent line of manufactures in metal, wood, paper 
and wool, and special satisfaction is found in the fact that the goods pro- 
duced are of the highest order of merit. The markets of the world call 
for two distinct grades of articles, namely, those that are of the best, and 
those that are of the cheapest, regardless of quality. Both of these 
demands must be supplied, and each is equally respectable, but it is a 
matter of congratulation that full employment has been found for the 
industries of the town in producing articles of the highest grade. An 
example can not be called to mind of a Hamilton product seeking low 
grade markets. 

Many of Hamilton's factories are of transplanted growth. The manu- 
facturer located in the large cit}* has been surrounded bj- an extensive local 
market and has cultivated it highly, and has limited his horizon by it. His 
factory being located upon expensive property in the large city, and being 
often many stories high his work was done at a great disadvantage, his 
factory- could not be conveniently extended, and his workmen would neces- 
sarily be of the tenement-house class to a great extent. Being prevailed 
upon to establish himself in Hamilton his eyes become opened to some 
startling facts. His factor>- is new and suited to his work ; it is capable 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 243 

of unlimited extension; all his expenses are low; his workmen all become 
property owners and live in their own homes. But the most startling fact 
remains to be noted. He has moved away from the local market of the 
large city which he so highly cultivated. He finds that instead of a home 
market he must seek a market abroad- He begins to study the map of the 
world, and is very much surprised to find how big it is; his horizon expands 
and he reaches out the tentacles of trade, and. instead of wasting his 
energies upon a local market, he finds himself independent of all special 
localities, and finds his goods reaching the ends of the earth. His business 
may grow to an extent without limit and he finds himself entirely indepen- 
dent of embarrassing local depressions in trade. He advertises abroad, and 
liis goods become known throughout the length and breadth of the land. 
This is the true history of ever>' manufacturer in Hamilton who has 
removed from a large city. 

Another fact should be noted regarding the manufacturers located in 
Hamilton. There is no unfriendly competitive strife. Two manufacturers 
^striving for supremacy in a local market are apt to have their personal 
relationship strained, but when the whole world becomes the market the 
fact is soon established that the world is big enough for peaceable and 
friendh- work by all. 

The success of Hamilton's factories is not due to the money that 
has been put into them, for money itself contains no element of successful 
Tenture ; nor is it due to the brain of the capitalist who controls the money 
-and operates the factory, for a successful marketable produce is not the 
mere result of capital and of brain in managing that capital ; nor is it due 
to the salesman who makes the market for the product, for there must be 
the product before there can the sale; nor is it due to the designers a :d 
inventors and engineers who contrive the product, for the most meritorious 
product will fail if not successfully disposed of; nor is it due to the mechan- 
ical skill of the workman, for such skill will always be idle if technical 
talent does not contrive things to be made, and business management does 
not provide the facilities for manufacturing and the facilities for getting the 
products upon the market. The success of Hamilton's factories is due 
to all of these things, to the splendid workmen, to the talented contrivers, 
to the magnificent business management and to the energetic salesman. 

The success of individual factories, which w:ll be pointed out in this 
"historv, awaits the newcomers. Hamilton locations, of superior advan- 



244 ^^^ CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON O. 

tages, are at the imnieJiate disposition of enterprising niaiiutacturcrs who- 
desire to increase their facilities, better their workmen, improve their pro- 
duct and extend their trade, and the present manufacturers of Hamilton: 
stand ready to welcome them with the right hand of fellowsliip and the- 
record of experience and success. 

It is of interest to note the diversity of products of Hamilton's fac- 
tories, and the tendency of these products toward the formation of a 
complete economic system. An example may be found as you peruse 
the morning newspaper. The paper on which this newspaper is printed 
is made in Hamilton. The paper-making machines which fabricated the 
paper were made in Hamilton. The machinery which made the ink with 
which the printing is done was made in Hamilton. The engines which 
furnished the steam power for making the paper and for running the 
presses were made in Hamilton. The boilers which furnish the steam for 
the engines were made in Hamilton. The boiler-making machinery 
employed in making the boilers was made in Hamilton. The steam 
pumps which supply the boilers with water were made in Hamilton. The 
saw-mills that produce the limbers of the paper mill and printing office 
were made in Hamilton ; and the iron working machinery employed in 
making the printing presses, and the paper-making machines, and the 
ink- making machinery and the engines were made in Hamilton. Massive 
pumping engines for the water-works of cities are made in Hamilton. 
Treasure throughout the world is stored in safes and vaults made in 
Hamilton. The evening drive is taken in buggies from the buggy fac- 
tories of Hamilton. The beautiful and artistic tiling which forms the 
mantel facing and the hearth of the home is made in Hamilton. The 
finest of woolen blankets are made in Hamilton. The running felts upon 
the paper-making machines are made in Hamilton. The furniture is made 
in Hamilton. The wood-working machinery employed in making the 
furniture and employed in making the buggies is made in Hamilton. The 
spring mattresses of the beds are made in Hamilton. The overalls of the 
workmen are made in Hamilton. The stoves in the kitchens and living; 
rooms are made in Hamilton. The canned fruits and vegetables are made 
in Hamilton. The cans that contain these articles are made in Hamilton 
The laundry machinery >s made in Hamilton. 



THE CENTENNIAL AKNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 245 

THK WflTKR POWER OF PffllLTON. 



5 HE Miami River, the Great Miami River, runs directly through the city 
of Hamilton, so also does the Miami and Erie Canal. There are two 
locks on the canal within the city, the surplus flow from which is utilized for 
power, one in running a paper mill and one in running a flour mill. 

About 1843 a number of citizens, L. D. Campbell and John Woods being- 
the leading spirits, determined to utiHze in Hamilton the considerable fall of 
the river in the immediate neighborhood. Between four and five miles above 
the city a dam was erected and a canal was constructed leading from the dam 
to the city. A mile below the dam an impounding reservoir of nearly one 
hundred acres was provided. This is known as the Big Reservoir Just 
within the city limits a reservoir was provided of about fifteen acres, and 
known as the Little Reservoir. From this little reservoir a canal was con- 
structed about parallel with the river and running to Market Street, then 
called Stable Street. This canal constitutes the high level of the water 
power. Quite a number of manufacturing establishments are operated along- 
this high level and take their water directly from this canal, discharging it 
into a tail-race which runs back to the river, starting back parallel with the 
canal, the city lying in a bend of the river. The fall from the high level 
canal, which is on Fifth Street, to this tail-race, which is on Lowell Street, is 
about twelve feet. In the northern part of the city, at Mill Street, a latteral 
arm was built to the canal, running west toward the river and then turning 
down along near the river, on Water Street, to Market Street. This canal 
furnishes power to factories located at various points along its length, the 
waste water discharging directly to short raceways leading to the river, the 
fall being about twenty-seven feet. From the end of the high level canal on 
Fifth Street a canal was constructed through Market Street to the river, and 
this canal furnishes the tail-race for powers located near the south end of the 
high level canal, the fall being ten feet. This Market Street forms also a 
low-level power canal. At the river end of the Market Street tail-race other 
powers were supplied with a fall of about eighteen and one-half feet. These 
various canals in the city have been locally christened "Hydraulics," a word 
probably employed to distinguish them from the Miami and Erie canal. A 
stranger lost in Hamilton will be told that High Street is one block beyond 
the "hydraulic." This Greek is good local English 

The canals or "hydraulics" are about forty ieet wide and about four feet 
deep. No record has been found of the actual power of the system. About 
all of the power has long ;igo been taken up, though some of it is not at 
present in actual use. The rates at which the power is sold, on leases, is 
extremely low, and the power is satisfactory, within its limits, except at cer- 
tain .seasons of the year. The power is leased by the "run," and about one 
hundred runs are now under lease. 

The water power is the property of the Hamilton and Rossville Hy- 
draulic Company, of which Adam Laurie, Sr., is President; Asa Shuler.Vice 
President, and E G. Ralhbone, Secretary and Treasurer. 



246 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 




The Black & Clauuson Connpany. 

Paper JVIill jVIaehinery, Etc. 

y OUNG Frank Black had been knocking around his father's shop, 
«— ^^ and in 1866, he began his apprenticeship in the Owens, lyane & Dyer 
shop at one dollar per week. He then tramped and worked in Richmond, 
and then in the Whitely Reaper Works, Springfield, and then on the new 
t)ridge at lyouisville, and then in the Gates shop in Chicago. In Chicago he 
was getting three dollars per day. He wanted to learn how to run a roll- 
grinding lathe and found that he could get a job with the celebrated J. Mor- 
ton Pool in Wilmington, Delaware, at one dollar per day. This was a hard 
Tub but Frank stood to it and mastered the roll-grinding machine. In 1874 
Peter Black & Sons got a J. Morton Pool machine and started the roll-grind- 
ing business in Hamilton, there being many paper-mills in the neighborhood 
needing such work. Frank operated the roll-grindiug machine, and in May, 
1874, the first roll-grinding was done in the Western country, a roll for 
.Beckett, Laurie & Co. Peter,' Black & Sons built a new shop on the corner 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 247 

of Water and Market Streets. In addition to the roll-grinding they got 
some extra work from the Owens, Lane & Dyer shop, which was overflowing 
with work, and a little repairing was done for paper-mills, the merest trifle. 

lyinus P. Clawson had been raised on a farm and knew nothing of ma- 
chinery or of business, except that he had taken a course in a Commercial 
College. In 1875 Clawson got well of farming and immediately took the 
manufacturing fever. He came to town and found the Blacks, and just 
north of Black's shop Burns was making plows and wagons. Then the 
firm of Burns, Black & Co. was formed, consisting of P. Burns, John Conboy, 
Peter Black, Frank Black, I. P. Clawson and John Stillwaugh. The new 
firm bought the properties of Black and Burns, and the intention vras to do 
roll-grinding and build agricultural implements. But this elaborate firm was 
too big to live, and in 1876 it was dissolved. Burns retiring to the northern 
part of the shop and assuming the wagon and plow business. The firm 
of Black & Clawson was formed, consisting of Peter Black, Frank Black and 
I. P. Clawson, to do roll-grinding. Roll-grinding was good business, but after: 
all it was simply the operation of a single machine. Clawson was business. 
He had the hardest kind of business sense and an amount of pluck and 
energy which would make a success of anything susceptible of it. He made 
up his mind that the firm of Black & Clawson should eventually become 
builders of paper-making machines. He was laughed at by the paper mill 
men generally, and his partners looked on in fear and trembling. The Rock- 
dale mill was short of drying power, and Clawson proceeded to have designs 
made for super-dryers to improve the Rockdale mill. This brought pitying 
smiles from the Rockdale people, but Clawson hung on and got the order, 
and the job was done, and it was well done. This was in 1878, and was the 
first piece of paper-mill construction done by Black & Clawson. 

At this time there were only two mills in the West making fine writing 
papers, and the Harding Paper Mill Company, at Excello, was making the 
best product. Their larger and finer mill at Franklin had burned and it was 
determined to rebuild it. That would require a Fourdrinier Paper Machine ^^-^^^, 

capable of producing the finest possible grades of paper. Clawson had the 
sublime nerve to go after this job^ and Mr. Harding, a man of splendid attain 
ments and rare good sense, was not long in taking Clawson's measure and in 
determining that the new machine should be built by Black & Clawson. 
When the paper-mill men of the valley heard of this they were astounded, 
and the prophets of evil held high carnival. But the machine was built and 
made paper, and it is making paper to-day of as fine grades as has ever been 
produced from the stock it works on. 

Black & C'awson received about six thousand dollars for this job. The 
next year they rebuilt a cylinder machine for the Enson mill, near Springfield, 
and built an eighty-four inch cylinder machine for the Friend & Fox Paper 
Company, at Crescentville. They also built about one hundred of the 
Monarch Portable Engines for E. C. Hooven. 



248 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

In this year they took up the manutaciure ot paper-pertorating machiues 
of which there were very few in the United States, and those were imported 
machines. There were but two in Cincinnati. The Rlack & Clawson per- 
forating machines are now in use all over the world, and no more of the 
English machines are sold here, and it is a very poor printing office indeed 
that has not a perforating machine. The manufacture of machines for mak- 
ing printer's ink was also taken up and vigorously pushed. Thej-e machines 
were sold all over the country and some have been sold in Germany. It 
would be difficult now-a-days to read anything in print, which was not done 
in ink produced in the Black & Clawson machinery. 

In 1881 the old shop proved entirely inadequate to the magnificent 
business which had been buiUling up, so a new and very extensive shop was 
built at Second and Mill Streets. The concern was now better prepared for 
its work than anyone else in the world engaged in its line of mannfacture. 
In 1883 the concern was incorporated, with a capital of one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars, with Frank Black as President, and L. P- Clawson as Sec- 
retary and Treasurer. The capital has since been increased to two hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars. In 1886 Mr. Peter Black died. Mr. Black and 
Mr. Claw.son both give constant attention to the details of the business which 
is constantly increasing. About one hundred paper-making machines have 
been built by this concern, and they stand to-day as the leaders in the trade, 
and the reputation of their machines is known the world over. These 
machines are to-day making paper of every grade, from tissue paper to paste- 
board, and machines have been shipped to Australia, Japan, Canada, Mexico, 
France and Germany. Among tlie machines so far constructed is a one 
hundred and eighteen inch Fonrdrinier machine for the Diamond Match Com- 
pany, which is the largest Fourdrinier paper machine in the United States, 
and a one hundred and eighteen inch cylinder machine for the same concern, 
which is the largest cylinder machine in the world. 



Li. DElHZEf? 8l SOH- 

JVIanufaetUPePs of Bent Wood Wopk. 

( N 1855 Leonard Deinzer started a turning shop on Water Street, at the 
— _ J west end of Market Street. In 1861 he was joined by John H. Stephan 
and the firm became Deinzer & Stephan, and hubs and spokes were added 
to the line of work. At that time Philip Hurm was running a bending 
factory in the same locality, and, in 1873, Deinzer & Stephan bought out 
Hurm and added his line of work to their business. In 1887 Stephan retired 
from the firm and took with him the hub and spoke part of the business. 
Mr. Deinzer now took in his son George, and the firm became ly. Deinzer & 
Son. They manufacture felloes, shafts, poles, bows, and l)ent work of every 
description for carriages and wagons, and the goods are sold throughout the 
country. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O, 249 

HILlES TOOLi WORKS. 

JVIaehine Tools 

V.' HE carpenter's tools are the things which he takes in his hand to do his 
(J work with, and the machinery employed for accomplishing the same kind 
■of work is called wood-working machinery. So, also, the small implements 
handled by the machinist are called machinist's tools. but the term iron-work- 
ing machinery has never been generally adopted for the machinery which 
the machinists use. Such machines are known as "machine tools," and they 
comprise lathes, planing machines, drilling machines, slotting machines, 
boring machines, gear-cutters, and a host of other machines designed for 
operating on cold metals by the operation of a cutting-tool removing a 
rshaving. Wherever machinery of any kind is built, machine tools are em- 
ployed in doing the work. Machine tools are therefore machines to make 
machines and must possess fundamental accuracy. The accuracy and low 
cost of any kind of manufacturing in metal must therefore find its founda- 
tion in the accuracy and efficiency of the machine tools employed in the 
work. The production of machine tools involves the highest grade of skill 
in design and of workmanship in production. 

In Cincinnati there was a large machine shop, originally owned by the 
Niles Brothers and called the Niles Works. It was engaged in general lines 
of mill work, steam engines, steamboat engines, locomotive engines, and 
heavy sugar machinery. It was a very old concern and had fallen behind 
the age. In it were employed two men, George A. Gray, Jr., and Alexander 
Cordon. They were old cronies and had long worked together, having 
hammered away on the Government gun-boats constructed at Cincinnati 
•during the war. Gray was Scotch and Gordon was Irish, with a little scotch 
in his, too. Both were young men and good mechanics. 

The Niles Works needed an additional lathe or two and found difficulty in 
getting the order filled by any of the builders of machine tools, and tlie lathes 
were accordingly built in the shop. After these were built a few more were 
built and sold to other shops, and soon a department was organized in one 
corner of the shop especially for the manufacture or machine tools, and this 
department was called the Niles Tool Works. Mr. James Gaff became inter- 
ested in the matter and the result was the formation of the firm of Gaff, Gray 
.& Gordon, calling their shop the Niles Tool Works, and taking the machine 
tool business of the Niles Works. The Niles Works went to decay and has 
faded from the earth, and the firm of Gaff, Gray & Gordon continued business 
a short time in a shop since torn down to make room for the Little Miami 
Depot. But the work was done under the serious disadvantages incident to 
a factory in a large city. Heavy work was done on upper floors and holes 
iad to be cut in the wall to get big work out. In 1872 the firm moved to 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMIi,10N, O. 25! 

Hamilton and built wliat was considered a model establishment, designed for 
an output of twenty-five thousand dollars per month. The shop was built 
at the corner of Third and Mill Streets, extending back to Second Street. 
The citizens donated the ground, and the brick and stone required, and the 
Water Power Company donated power for a short period. The business was 
conducted by Messrs. Gray and Gordon, Mr. Gaff being the monied man of 
the institution. As large and extensive as the concern then was, it would 
appear almost contemptible when compared with the present establishment, 
but, as small as it was, it was entirely too large when the panic came and all 
business flattened out. In 1874 the concern had been incorporated with the 
corporate name of Niles Tool Works, with one hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars capital. Mr. Gaff" became President, Mr. Gordon Secretary, and Mr. 
Gray Treasurer and also Superintendent of the works. During the years <)f 
the panic the business became dead flat- Debts were piled up on the two 
mechanics, and in 1877 Mr. Gray's hopes and patience became exhausted and 
he retired. In 1877 Mr. R. C. McKinney, who had spent a time in the 
technical course of Cornell University, and who had been employed in the 
Cope & Maxwell Pump Works was put in charge of the office, and in 187S 
Mr. George T. Reiss, a machinist who had educated himself by night studies, 
was put in charge of the engineering. These two young men were employees 
without ownership in the business. Mr. Gordon was the head of the iustitu- 
tion In 1879 Mr. Gaff" died and his son, Mr. James W. Gaff", became Presi- 
dent. The business was pushed with vigor and was soon forced beyond the 
capacities of the shop which was accordingly enlarged. In 1882 a store and 
branch office was opened in Philadelphia ; not a mere agency, but a commer- 
cial house under the capital and name and management of the Hamilton 
establishment. In 1883 a similar branch was established in Chicago, and iti 
1886 one in New York, and in 1889 one in Pittsburg ; all being put in charge 
of branch managers, carefully supervised by the home establishment. The 
business became extended and the demands for the products of the shop were 
far in advance of its capacities, and enlargements were constantly taking place 
until to-day the establishment is one of the largest machine shops in the 
world, and is quite the most extensive engaged in its line of business. In. 
1879 Mr. Gordon, while awaiting a train at the depot, was overcome by the 
heat and his health became seriously shattered, and years were spent in re- 
covery, Mr. Gordon spending many months each year in Europe for the pur- 
pose. During his absence Mr. McKinney has been at the helm. Mr. Mc- 
Kinney became a stockholder soon after his first employment. In 1889 Mr, 
Jas. W. Gaff died and Mr. Gordon became President, and Mr. McKinney Sec- 
retary and Treasurer. 

The reputation of the establishment is splendid, and there are no metal- 
working countries into which the products of this grand shop do not go. 
The United States Government has favored the establishment with many 
large orders for the equipment of its arsenals, gun factories and navy yards. 



2^2 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

While the shop turns out several hundred styles of machine tools special at- 
tention is given to machines of the heaviest type, machines for the heaviest 
classes of machine work, and for this line of work the shop has been specially 
equipped. Single machines have been turned out weighing two hundred and 
fifty tons. One machine sold to the Government and delivered at a navy 
yard in California, requiring the prepayment of a freight bill amounting to 
ten thousand dollars. The shops are on the grandest proportions. There 
are many departmental shops in the establishment and the magnitude of the 
whole may be judged from the fact that one of these shops, a single room, 
is four hundred feet long by two hundred and sixteen feet wide. The shops 
are lofty, and well lighted, and splendidly equipped, special attention being 
given to the handling of heavy work, for which purpose twenty-four travel- 
ing cranes are employed, two of the large ones having a capacit}^ for easily 
lifting and carrying twenty-five tons each, while the next three can handle 
twenty tons each. The shops are lighted by one hundred and sixty arc 
lamps, and branch tracks of the railroads run through the yards and shops. 
The business is conducted with the utmost system and about one thou.saud 
people are employed. 



P. BURNS & CO. 

Ploixts and Wagons. 

JN 1849 Patrick Burns was an apprentice in Hutchinson's wagon shop 
at twenty-five cents a day, and by working overtime managed to 
support himself and his mother. In i860 he bought out his boss, for 
sixteen hundred dollars, four hundred dollars down and the balance to be 
]iaid whenever convenient. It was paid inside the year. Mr. Burns says 
that since that he has never borrowed any money or paid any interest, but, 
on the contrary, has done the loaning himself and has collected the interest. 
John Conboy worked for Burns and saved his money and got together six 
hundred dollars and bought into partnership with him. In 1875 Burns and 
Conboy and Peter Black and Frank Black and ly. P. Clawson and John Still - 
waugh, formed the firm of Burns, Black & Co. But it did not la^t long, and 
.soon we find the firm of P. Burns & Co., composed of Burns and Conboy, in 
the old business of making plows and w;igons in the new shop on Water 
Street, near Market. The wagons made by the firm are sold only in the im- 
mediate neighborhood and therefore this history is not concerned with them. 
Steel plows are made of about every variety of pattern, and these plows are 
sold, to a limited extent, in the various sections of the country. Mr. Burns 
says he has made all the money he wants and is anxious to quit and is now 
ou the lookout for his succe.ssor. 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 253 

JOSEPH SCHUIVIRKER & GO. 

JWanufaefcupers of Angeline. 

(rS\ CERTAIN prescription of Dr. Kauffman was known for many years 
"^ \^/ to have done wonders in the cure of rheumatism, and the formula 
had for some time been in the possession of Mr. Joseph J. Pater and Mr- 
Joseph Schumaker, who had personal knowledge of the merits of the medicine 
and in 1882, a partnership was formed between them for the manufacture, 
and sale of this rheumatic cure. A trade mark was registered for it under 
the name of "Angeline" and its sale was begun and the results closely 
watched and careful records kept as far as possible. The succe.'^s was so 
great that its fame has spread throughout this country and Europe, and large 
shipments are daily being made over the country and also to Glasgow, lyon" 
don, Paris and Munich. The sales in 1890 were very large. 

THE HATIONAli CRf^ SEAIi CO. 

M' HE old style was to lock up freight cars with padlocks, but this was ex- 
sJ pensive and a nuisance, for cars went long distances and into the hands of 
strangers, the locks became lost and broken, and the sum total of expense due 
to this was enormous. Then the change was made to a simple strip of tin 
or wire sealed with a lead seal bearing the seal of the road that loaded the 
car. Every load for a box car means a car seal to be used, and destroyed 
when the car is opened. 

Charles E. Hilker was a traveling salesman for special railroad supplies 
and in 1886, in Cincinnati, a friend showed Mr. Hilker a well known type of 
car seal and explained to him the demand for them, and stated that certain 
parties had spent a fortune devising machinery to make these seals cheaply 
and that they had reached the end of their string and the affair could probably 
be gotten at a bargain, and he suggested that Mr. Hilker get it and start the 
business. Mr. Hilker did so, securing the entire outfit and patents. He 
started into the seal business, incorporating it as the National Car Seal Co- 
It was uphill work, the method was far from satisfactory, and money was lost 
from the start and Mr. Hilker had every good reason for quitting the busi- 
ness. But he stuck to it for two years and finally succeeded in radically 
changing the system of manufacture. In 1890 the company established its 
factory in Hamilton and put out upon the market about fifty different styles 
of car seals. The car seals of this company's manufacture are used by about 
one hundred and fifty thousand miles of railroad and the seals are selling at 



254 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

a rate of twelve million seals per year. The capacity is now being increased 
to two hundred thousand per day. The business is prosperous and all the 
seals are being sold that can be made. These seals are made b}' automatic 
machinery of the most ingenious character, invented and built on the 
premises of the company. 

Early in 1891 the establishment began the manufacture of drill-presses 
and emery-grinders for general shop use, and these are selling largely, and it 
is in contemplation to take up the manufacture of bottler's supplies and other 
specialties. 

As an example of what can be done by sticking to a problem and study- 
ing it out, it may be stated that in the car seal shop, two years ago, it cost 
twenty dollars to do work which now costs one dollar. 

J. H. Stephan and Son, 

>>.„»i^iNCE 1864 the firm of Deiuzer & Stephan had been engaged in the 
-iii_ J manufacture of hubs, spokes, and bent work for wagons and car- 
riages, on Water Street, at the West end of Market Street. In 1887 the firm 
was dissolved, and Mr. Stephan, in partnership with his son William, under 
the firm name of J. H. Stephan & Son, continued the hub and spoke part of 
the business at the same location, 1 19 to 125 Water Street. The goods m anu 
factured find a general market. 

^^rLitting: IMIills, 

Xn 1876 Dorris began knitting hosiery with one hand machine in his 
store on High Street. In 1877 a factory was built on Campbell 
Avenue and twenty-five hand machines were put in and worked on hosiery 
exclusively. In 1S78 the factory was removed to Fifth Street, in a rented 
building, and fifty machines were operated by steam, working on hosiery. 
The business was later sold to other parties. In 1885 the knitting of under- 
wear was begun on five or six machines at Schuler & Benninghofen's Mill. 
In 1887 the factory was moved to Campbell Avenue and operated by water 
power, working on underwear only. In 1890 the factory was moved to Third 
and Market Streets, where it is now located. Fourteen machines are operated 
by water power, and the line of manufacture includes hosiery, and ladiesand 
children's knit underwear. The sales are throughout the Western state^ 
generally. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 255 

The Sot^tman M Blatn Co. 

Wardrobes and Extension Tables. 

I j W. SoRTMAN and E. F. Blum were both cabinet-makers and had a re- 
— -^ tail furniture store in Hamilton, and, in 1870. they started the manu- 
facture of extension-tables in a rented factory at Water and Market StreetSi 
manufacturing for their own retail trade alone. In 1876 they built a new 
factory on B. Street near North Street. They built extension-tables only^ 
but, in addition to work for their own trade, they branched out into the 
wholesale trade. There was at that time only one other factory making a 
specialty of extension-tables. In 1880 the store was given up and the en- 
tire attention of the firm was given to wholesale manufacturing. The sale 
was pushed, and wardrobes were added to the line of manufacture. The name 
•of the firm was Sortman & Blum. 




In 1886 the factory burned and was a total loss, entailing an uninsured 
loss of seventeen thousand dollars on Sortman & Blum. 

In 1886 the Sortman & Blum Company was incorporated with twenty- 
five thousand dollars capital, since increased to thirty-five thousand dollars, 
with Mr. Sortman, President, and Mr. Blum, Secretary and Treasurer. A new 
factory was built in the same location, a room}' factory and an extensive 
warehouse, both three-story brick buildings. The manufacture is still limit- 



256 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

ed to the two specialties, wardrobes and extension-tables. But these two- 
lines have been much extended so as to include the higher grades of goods 
wardrobes in all the modern high-grade finishes, and extension tables from 
the simplest and cheapest to the more elaborate style and pillar tables- 
Twenty styles of wardrobes are manufactured and eleven patterns ot exten- 
sion tables. The product of the factory is marketed all over the United vStates 
but principally in the East and South. Messrs. Sortman & Blum both give 
personal attention to the factory and business. 

The J. A. SOlVIIVIEt^S m^Q. Co., 

clothing paetopy. 

( N 1887 Mr. Somii ^rs was a traveling salesman for a Daj'ton house en- 
gaged in the ii.uiufacture of certain grades of clothing, and in that 
year, under the name ot J. A. Sommers & Co., he started the manufacture of 
overalls in Hamilton at 321 West Main vStreet. He had about two thousand 
dollars in cash and had a pretty hard row to hoe. But he was plucky and 
everything came out well and he added to the variety of goods manufactured. 
In 1 89 1 he built the new factory at Seventh and Walnut and still further in- 
creased the line of products. The establishment was incorporated with a 
capital of twenty -five thousand dollars, since increased to fifty thousand dol- 
lars. Mr. Sommers is President and runs the shop. Mr. C. F. Funk is Vice 
President and does the traveling. Mr. J. W. Slonneker is Secretary and 
Treasurer. Five traveling salesmen are employed and one hundred and 
thirty hands are employed in the factory which is always full of work, run- 
ning night and day. 

The line oi goods now manufactured includes overalls, outing cheviots 
and flannel shirts, pantaloons, coats, hunting cloths, knee pants, and child- 
rens waist's. 

BERK. KlNGEf^Y & Co., 

Cflsxnuicxetupeps of Gelatine. 



(TT. 



HIS business .started in 1SS9, the firm being composed of F. H. Berk, S. vS 
Kingery and H. P. Deuscher. The premises, formerly occupied by the 
Sohu Pork House were purchased and extensively remodeled. There is only 
one other factory engaged in this business in the United States. The Ham- 
ilton factory has opened its markets throughout the country, and now sells 
gelatine all over and lor all the purposes for which gelatine is used. Last 
year sixty thousand pounds were sold, and the capacity of the establishment 
is now being increased so as to produce twice that quantity. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 257 

The Hamilton Corliss Engine lUorks. 

Hoovcn, Oxjuens St l^entschlcp Co. 

f N the early days of Hamiltou the firm of Owens, I,ane <fc D^^er began 
— ,_ i the manufacture of stationary and portable steam engines and saw 
mills. The business became very extensive and thousands of these engines 
were sold all over the world, and the owners grew gray in the service. The 
firm was later incorporated as the Eclipse Machine Works and the name 
was later changed, by special act of the Legislature, to the Owens, Lane & 
Dyer Co. The works were ver}' extensive and well equipped for the product. 

In the shop of Long & Allstratter George H. Helvey, a mere lad, was 
serving his apprenticeship as a machinist. He became a splendid workman 
but was without education or experience outside of the shop. Finishing hig 
apprenticeship he began to gather experience as a traveling journeyman ma- 
chinist. About 1873 his travels brought him again to Hamilton and he be- 
came a journeyman machinist in the Niles Tool Works. Here he became 
seized with ambitions and entered upon a course of hard studies at home at 
nights and burned the midnight oil over the books of his craft. It quickly 
developed that he possessed not only the skilled hand of a machinist, but the 
talented mind of the superior mechanical engineer. He became Department 
Foreman in the Niles Works, then General Foreman, and then Superinten- 
dent for C. E- Jones & Bro., in Cincinnati, and then Superintendent of the 
Phenix Caster Co. ot Hamilton. In the meantime he was a close student. 

Prior to 1877 Mr. E. C. Hooven, as bright a commercial man as one will 
meet in many a day, was engaged as a dealer in agricultural implements in 
Hamilton. The mere idea of buying a thing and selling it again in un- 
changed form was far from satisfactory to him and he determined to become 
a manufacturer. He accordingly in that year got up the "Monarch" Portable 
Engine and the "Monarch Thresher. He had his boilers built in one .shop 
and his engines in another, and his thresher parts in several shops. In three 
years he had sold seventy-five of these engines and sixty-five of the threshers 
But Mr. Hooven sought for greater manufacturing fields than this. The 
Owens, Lane &. Dyer establishment was for sale and Mr. Hooven promptly 
effected an association with Mr. Helvey and they, in association with Mr. 
Adam Rentchler, Mr. Job Ow^ens, of the Owens, Lane & Dyer concern, Mr. 
Henry Sohn, and Mr. James E Campbell, bought the establishment of the 
Owens, Lane & Dj^er Co., continuing the manufacture of the standard products 
of the old concern, to which was added the Monarch Portable Engme, the 
Monarch Thresher and the Monarch Traction Engine. They built one hun- 
dred of the Monarch Engines, fifty Traction Engines, and one hundred and 
fifty Threshers. 

In January, 1882, thefirm was incorporated as the Hooven, Owens & 



258 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

Rentschler Co. with a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Mr. 
Job Owens retired and his sou, Mr. Joe Owens, became a stockholder. The 
present stockholders are Mr. Kooven, Mr. Rentschler, Mr. Joe Owens, Mr. 
Sohu, Mr. Campbell and Mr. Richter. Mr. Hooven is President, Mr. 
Rentschler, Vice Presidenj/. Mr. Sohn Secretary and Treasurer, and Mr. Hel- 
vey Superintendent. / 

In November, 1882, it was decided to enter upon the manufacture of the 
highest class of stationar}^ steam engines known to the trade, and the engine 
of the Corliss type was adopted as being far ahead of anything in this line 
yet devised in steam engineering. The first engine, with a cylinder eighteen 
inches in diameter and forty-two inch stroke, was started early in 18S3 and 
produced results as to economy of fuel and close regulation of speed which 
were up to the highest standard, The business of building these engines 
was then, and has been since, continuously pushed with the utmost vigor 
with such success as to crowd out of the shop every other line of manufac- 
ture. Nothing has since been built in the shop but these high class Corliss 
engines, and not only this but the shop has been many times enlarged and its 
facilities greatly increased in every way, and for years the shop has run 
twenty-four hours per day. The extent of the business may be judged from 
the fact that seven hundred and fifty of these magnificent engines have been 
constructed, varyirg in size from single cylinder thirty-five horse power en- 
gines having cylinders ten by twenty-four inches, to massive two thousand 
horse power engines having compound cylinders and running as condensing 
engines. These engines will be found installed in all of the important power 
^centers of the country, running factories and mills and furnishing the motive 
power for cable railways, and electric railways, and electric light stations. 
The commercial branch of the business has been attended to by Mr. Hooven 
and the engineering and productive branches have been in the hands of Mr. 
Helvey who, notwithstanding his early disadvantages, and he is still a very 
young man, has proved himself to be one of the brightest engineers of motive 
power in the country. 

One of the mcst phenominal things in connection with the enormous 
ontput of this establishment is the fact that in all this large number of high- 
class engines, all going in positions subjecting them to the most critical tests, 
not a single case of dissatisfaction has been recorded. It would not be at all 
to the discredit of a manufacturing concern if a number of miscalculations 
had developed in such a great number of diversified power plants, and the 
fact that this enormous business has not developed one single failure is cer- 
tainly a matter of wonderment, and reflects extraordinary credit upon the 
establishment. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON. O. 259 

THE F. <^ 1^. KAHH & Bt^os. 

stove Foundry. 



N 1842 Martin, Henderson & Co. established a stove foundry at Hang- 
ing Rock, Ohio, one of the earliest stove foundries in the state, and 
the design and practice was to cast stove plate directly from the reduced iron 
as it ran from the blast furnace, no intermediate pig iron or remelting being 
employed. 

Mr. lyazard Kahn was born in France, and when a very young man 
landed in this country with a bundle of clothes and a trifle of pocket money. 
He started West and on the way his bundle was stolen and his pocket was 
piched, leaving him penniless among strangers, but there were no lazy bones 
in his body and he went earnestly to work. He blacked stoves for a living 
and did it up to the Queen's taste. He traveled some through the country 




-selling lamp burners and such things, and finally selling stoves, and finally 
drifted into rather intimate contact with the stove trade. He, with his brother 
Felix, developed strong commercial instincts and business energy and saving 
habits, and in 1873 they were able to purchase each a one -fifth interest in the 
stove foundry of Martin, Henderson & Co., then producing about four hun- 
dred tons of stoves per year. In 1876 Mr. Martin retired and the Messers. 
Kahn bought his interest, the firm name being changed to Henderson, Kahn 
& Co. In 1879 Mr. Meis of the firm retired, the Messis. Kahn and Mr. 
Henderson buying him out. In 1881 the Messrs. Kahn, joined by another 
brother since deceased, bought out Mr. Henderson, the foundry then pro- 
ducing eighteen hundred tons of stoves per annum, and the firm name was 
changed to F. & L. Kahn & Bros, as it has since remained. In 1884 the 
establishment was moved to Hamilton, the sales office still remaining in Cin- 
■cinnati where it had for sometime been located, and in moving to Hamilton 
they followed the usual line of thought that the local trade of the city must 



26o THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

Still be specially fostered. They had not long been located in Hamilton: 
before their market began to greatly expand and the Cincinnati salesroom- 
was abolished and their products began to find a market in every locality in 
the United States, supplemented by extensive shipments to China, Japan, 
Spain, France and England. The establishment is now producing twenty- 
four hundred tons of stoves per year. 

In 1887 Mr. Samuel Kahn became a member of the firm and now has 
charge of outside sales department, Mr. Felix Kahn having charge of the 
general office business, while Mr. Lazard Kahn gives attention to the techni- 
cal management. 

The new shop built in Hamilton is a model affair, occupying five acres 
and employing two hundred men. It was planned by Mr. I^azard Kahn and 
it is so perfect in its arrangement that the plan has since been identically 
copied by several enterprising stove foundries, after visiting the establishment 
and procuring the plans thereof from the owners. Ever3'thing about their 
diversified line of .stove work is done complete in the establishment which i^ 
provided with its own extensive sheet-metal shop, plating room, and art de- 
partment. The designs turned out by this establi.shment are always in the 
lead. The constructions are upon well studied scientific principles and the 
artistic designs are of great originality and most pleasing character. Mr- 
I^azard Kahn has long been recognized as a man ol special practical attain- 
ments in the stove trade, and in the council of the stove makers association, 
where he is an active member of the Executive Committee. In the Paris 
Universal Exposition of 1889, the President of the United States appointed 
Mr. Eazard Kahn as a member of the International Jury in Class 27, and in 
recognition of his services upon that jury the President of the French Repub- 
lic has lately honored him with a very gratifying diploma and a handsome 
medal. 

It is usual in the stove trade to distinguish the various designs by fanci- 
ful trade-mark names, and the present establishment early adopted the term 
•'Estate" as a fundamental trade mark, and the product has become extreme- 
ly jjopular. The line of stoves and ranges now includes about five hundred 
different .styles and sizes, and new patterns are being constantly produced. 
In 1888 the manufacture of gas stoves was taken up as a special department 
and this line now includes two hundred different styles and sizes, and new- 
patterns are constantly under way. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 26 1 

The CRHH & BHOWrl Co. 

The Daisy Mills. 

^-A-BOUT i860 a gymnasium society was formed, with Minor Millikin as 
^ \^ the moving spirit, and a large gymnasium was built at the corner 
of Fourth and High Streets. The Gymnasium went by the board as a result 
of the war and about 1868 Brown & Weller turned the premises into an ele- 
vator About 1870 Joseph Straub bought out Brown's half interest, and in. 
the same year, James T. Imlay bought a third interest in the business, which 
was then conducted under the name of Weller, Straub & Co. In 1873 Straub 
retired and in 1875 again entered the business, buying Imlay's interest- 
About 1877 Joseph Snyder bought Straub's interest. 




C/r?~E I'DWNG^I^LS' 



In 1 88 1 William E. Brown and W. B. Carr bought the property as a 
speculation. Mr. Carr had learned the milling trade m his father s mill at 
the corner of Fifth and Davton Street, and was a partner m that mill when it 
burned in 1882. In 1883 the firm of Carr & Brown erected the present mill, 
and in 1888 the firm was incorporated as the Carr& Brown Co., \yith an in- 
corporated capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, with William 
E Brown as President, and W. B. Carr Treasurer and Manager. In the same 
year the new elevator was built. The mill is thoroughly equipped with the 
most modern machinery and has a daily capacity of five hundred barrels ot 
flour and two hundred barrels of meal, and the elevator has a capacity ot two 
hundred thousand bushels. Railwav tracks run directly into the mill. 

The market is principally in the Eastern States while large exports are 
made to the Glasgow market. The mill is always running to its full capacity, 
and while a large number of brands of flour are made, a special reputation, 
has attached itseltofjthe "Telephone," "Bon Ton" and "Golden Rod" branas. 



262 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OV HAMILTON, O. 





fOi'J'll^fl'/VT- 











i.^^!'^^^^ 



The flloslep Safe and liock Company. 




OSES MOSIvER, Julius Hosier and William Hosier, all young and 
, enterprising men, had been virtually born and brought up in 
the safe business, ot which Cincinnati had long been the acknowledged 
center of trade. But while the safe business of Cincinnati was an immense 
one and represented the highest attainments in the art, it had fallen into 
ruts and the products failed, to a certain extent, to keep up with the march 
of events. Safes, as a general thing, were not handsome, nor were they 
constructed upon such systematic lines as were essential to the getting of 
first class safes at a fair price. Nor had the genius of the safe maker kept 
up with the genius of the burglar. 

These three brothers started the business under the name of The Hosier 
Safe & lyock Co. on Pearl Street. They put business talent and mechanical 
talent into the art and pushed the business with vigor and soon out-grew the 
factory and the capacity of the factory to be extended within the limits im- 
posed by the surroundings. Then a move was made to another locality in 
Cincinnati and soon the business outgrew the new situation, and then a move 
was made to another locality on Elm Street in Cincinnati. The business 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O, 265 

continued to grow and extensions were made in all possible directions until 
there was no longer room to extend. Then an entirely new factory was 
built on Front Street to be devoted entirely to burglar proof work, and this 
factory soon overflowed its capacity and made it impossible to fill the orders 
received. In 1890 it was determined that room must be had for the increas- 
ing industry and accordingly, the magnificent factory was built at Hamilton. 
In this grand establishment a single one of the work-rooms is 205 feet by 
400 feet. The premises occupy ten acres bounded by Grand Boulevard,. 
Lincoln Avenue, Safe Avenue and Mosler Avenue. The Miami and Erie 
Canal runs at one edge of the property and the Panhandle railroad upon the 
other. 

The Mosler Safe & Lock Co. has worked a number ot revolutions in the 
safe trade. Special appliances were contrived for the production of the 
work so as to secure superior results without increase of cost. Great inge- 
nuity was shown in modifying the established principles of construction. 
Safes had always before been constructed with square corners and were de- 
cidedly unhandsome. The Mosler Safe & Lock Co. abandoned this system 
and introduced the round cornered safe which was free from sharp angles 
and possessed an integrity and strength and beauty before unknown. The 
construction of burglar-proof work was brought to its highest point. Time- 
locks were brought to a superior condition of efficiency and convenience. 

Burglar-proof safes of the highest type had resolved themselves into im- 
penetrable walls (that is impenetrable within the length of time available 
for the burglar) and hinged air tight doors locked by unpickable combination 
locks guarded by time-locks. The locks were inside the safe, and the safe 
door closed air tight in its jamb. Such construction constituted the highest 
attainment which had bean reached in the art of safe-making. The doors 
were fitted with the greatest of care and there was no chance for the burglar 
to introduce explosive material at the door-joint. But the inherent defect 
in the system lay in the fact that the spindle of the combination lock must 
reach to the outside of the safe through a hole in the door, and fit in that 
hole with a certain degree of looseness. Here was the fatal crack and 
through it the burglar could introduce liquid and gaseous explosives and 
cause them to reach the very vitals of the safe. 

The Mosler Safe & Lock Co. began the manufacture of the screw door 
safe. The door is circular and is ground into the door-jamb and fits as tight 
as a poppet-valve. The door is screwed into the door-jamb and the door can 
only be opened by unscrewing, and it is kept from being unscrewed by the 
time-lock located within the safe. There is no hole through the door for a 
lock-spindle and no lock-spindle at all. The safe is an absolutely air-tight 
impenetrable structure. 

Much originality is shown in all the work of this Company, which owns 
a large number of patents under which it is operating. The business done 




llllllllllllllllllllllllilillllllillllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllliili^ I ii I g I b» ilii II 



liuliiiililinlilililliiilllltiilllli 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 265 

is enormous and the products go everywhere where there is anything worth 
locking up against fire and the knight of the jimmy. Branch houses for the 
sale of the work of this establishment have been established in Boston, 
Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, St. lyouis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, &c. 
and a very extensive branch house is located in the City of Mexico. One 
hundred salesmen are employed in selling the goods. 

In 1890 Mr. Julius Mosler died and the business has since been con- 
ducted entirely by Mr. Moses Mosler and Mr. William Mosler, both ot whom 
give constant personal attention to the business. When the other shop was 
built in Cincinnati for the burglar proof work, that part of the business was 
incorporated under the name of the Mosler Bank Safe Co. In the removal 
to Hamilton everything is consolidated into one system. 

The l^itchie and Dyet^ Company. 

Tt^action Engines and Sauu JVIills. 

y R. William Ritchie had been connected with the old Owens, Lane & 
sJ \^^^ Dyer shop for many years, and when that shop was sold in 1880 
to Hoven, Owens & Rentschler Co., ^Ir. Ritchie, started the Ritchie &. Dyer 
Co. there being associated with him Mr. William Dyer. There was only 
about two thousand dollars put into the business and the new concern had a 
hard tune in getting along. Property was bought on the corner of Vine and 
lyowell Street, and the present shop erected, and new patterns were made for 
saw mills and traction engines. Mr. Dyer soon retired. Mr. Ritchie pushed 
the business and everything turned out splendidly. Selling agencies were 
established in all prominent cities north and south and west and the line of 
products was increased to include traction engines from ten to forty horse- 
power, and various sizes of saw mills, varying in capacity from three thousand 
to seventy thousand feet of lumber per day. About fifty traction engines 
and about three hundred saw mills are sold per year. Mr. Ritchie is Presi- 
dent and Mr. Doeller is Secretary and Treasurer. 

The }icxmilton nialting Company. 

( N 1879 the firm of Reutti & Mason leased the Schelly malt house on 
-,^ J Canal Street between Sixth and Seventh. The house had a capac- 
ity of one hundred thousand bushels and this firm increased it to one 
hundred and fifty thousand. In 1879 the business was purchased by Charles 
Sohngen, George P. Sohngen and William B. Brown, who conduct the busi- 
ness under the name of The Hamilton Malting Co. The product of this 
malt house is marketed through the Sohngen Malting Company. 




((! 






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r- ir- hi »- 







THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 267 

OincirzLrLa-ti IBreTT^irxg^ Oo. 

(^ N 1850 Peter Schwab, eleven years old, landed in the United States 
^■^w^ from Germany, coming over in the same steamer with Henry Sohn. 
He came to Hamilton and learned the Cooper's trade at which he worked 
for some time. He was smart and industrious, and saving, and in course of 
time, became able to embark in business ventures of his own. 

In 1858 John W. Sohn built a small brewery at the corner of Front and 
Sycamore Streets. 

In 1864 M. Jacobi bought this brewery of Sohn and operated it for four 
years. In 1878 the firm of Peter Schwab & Co., composed of Peter Schwab, 
F. VanDerveer and Herman Reutti, bought the brewery of Jacobi. But the 
business was conducted at a loss. In 1870 Mr. Schwab retired and the 
business was continued by VanDerveer and Reutti. 

In 1874 Mr. Schwab bought the brewery of VanDerveer and Reutti. It 
had a capacity of fifty barrels per day, but no sale could be found for that 
amount of product. Mr. Schwab operated in hard luck. Things were run- 
ning behind, debts were piling up, and debtors were pressing, and there 
seemed to be no way out of the woods. Mr. Schwab was as deep in the hole 
as even the nerviest man care to get. But he worried along where other 
men would have laid the thing down, and the result of his persistent energy 
was to bring about an improvement in the prospects, which improvements 
have continued and bloomed into the highest kind of success. The trade 
was pushed, the capacity of the brewery greatly exceeded, and the brewery 
was enlarged to meet the growing demands. In 1875 the business was in- 
corporated under the name of The Cincinnati Brewing Co. In 1890 an 
artificial ice plant was put in, the plant now having a capacity of fifty tons 
per day, of ice made from filtered water. The capacity of the Brewery has 
been so increased that it has now four hundred barrels per day and the sales 
are always up to the full capacity. The beer is shipped North, East and 
South, being sold very largely in Cleveland and Pitt.sburg. This present 
history is of course only concerned with that product of manufacturing 
establishments which goes out of the county and brings money income to the 
community, and in this sense the Ice Factory of this Brewery is merely an 
element in the manufacture and preservation of this beer which is shipped. 
But it seems hardly like going outside of the limitations of this history to 
explain that the manufactured, ice of this establishment also largely sup- 
plies the local market, this branch of the business being conducted under 
the name of the Hamilton Artificial Ice Co. The ice is of splendid quality 
and seems to be clearer and cleaner than the natural article and has always 
been retailed at lower prices, and Mr. Schwab's enterprise in this ice mat- 
ter has met with keen appreciation by tlie citizens. 



268 



THE CENTExVNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, 






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H. P. DEUSCHER & CO. 

MALSTERS. 

" l^I^'^T", T, f "" """'" °''^™"' ""^' W""" street, an establish- 
ment wh.ch had been ,„ t.,r„ a brewery and a distillery. It was th=n 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 269 

idle and was the property of Mr. Isreal Williams. In that year Mr. Williams 
and Mr. H. P. Deuscher formed a partnership under the name of H. P. 
Deuscher & Co. each with equal interest. The property referred to was taken 
in hand and remodeled and equipped, turning it into a malting house with a 
capacity of fifty thousand bushels. The firm did not buy the real estate, and 
jt still belongs to Mr. Williams. Later the capacity of the house has been 
increased to one hundred thousand bushels. The first and second years 
some money was lost but without serious efiect on the firm and the business 
has been conducted with a fair degree of profit ever since. The conduct of 
the business is in the hands of Mr. Deuscher. 

j"OH:isr iDOD^o-ES & go. 

H"u."bs a-nd. Spcl^es. 

Xn 1851 Mr. Donges came to Hamilton from Germany, where he had 
learned his trade as a carpenter. He worked at his trade and finally 
"became a workman in the spoke factories and ultimately became interested 
in the business. He was for twenty-five j^ears connected with the various 
concerns engaged in the hub, spoke and bent-wood business in the water 
power factories along the river. In 1872 he built the factory on the C. H. & 
D. road between Hanover and Walnut Streets. There is associated with him 
Mr. John Schumacher who has a special interest in the hub department of 
the business. The articles manufactured are hubs, spokes, felloes, bows, 
shafts, poles, and turned and sawed timber. The shop is equipped with its 
own saw mill and with all the necessary machinery for the class of goods 
manufactured, and these goods are sold throughout the country and are also 
exported very largely. 

HAMILTON BUGGV CO. 



M<HI< 



I HIS business was established in 1889 and incorporated in 1890 with a 
cJ capital of fifty thousand dollars. The Duke shop was leased, and very 
•extensive alterations were made in the shop and finally extensive additions 
were built. The shop is conveniently located directly on the railroad and 
was equipped with new machinery. The President of the company is Mr. 
John Rogers, while Mr. I. P. Anderson is Vice President and Mr. Hochheimer 
is manager of manufacturing. The company makes all kinds of buggies, 
surreys and phaetons ; in addition to a number of specialties, such as the 
Hamilton Leader Fifth Wheel or Coupling ; the Behlen Boot and the Schad 
shell wheel. The establishment turns out about eight thousand vehicles 
per year, and the business is constantly increasing: ■••^ •* 



270 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

(iray IroQ pouQder5. 

XN 1875 Henry Sohn was book-keeper iti a Hamilton Brewery, Adam 
Rentschler was foreman in the foundry of the Variety Iron Works o 
Hamilton, and John Balle was a machinist working at the Niles Tool Works. 
These men were cronies and were anxious to go into business together, and 
the more they talked about it the more anxious they became, especially 
Balle who was thoroughly enthusiastic. None of them had ever been in 
business and all had been working for the sure thing of daily wages. They 
had twenty-nine hundred dollars in money between them. Their idea was 
to start a foundry with a small machine shop attachment and manufacture 
shelf hardware, and at the same time, furnish the castings and machine fit- 
tings required by numerous makers of agricultural implements, who were 
not themselves prepared to do their cast metal work. 

Job Owens had built a factory designed for felt making, but tor some 
reason the project had never been carried forward and the factory had been 
used for various purposes and was at this time vacant. Sohn, Rentschler 
and Balle threw up their jobs and rented the Owens factory and started in 
business as Sohn, Rentschler & Balle, calling their concern the Ohio Iron 

Works. 

These men began to find out what real business was. The enthusiastic 
Balle began to appreciate the sterling merits of a regular pay-day at the 
Niles Works, for the boot was now on the other foot, and serious problems 
arose as to how to scare up the money to pay the men. No paying business 
had been established and what little there was produced a loss instead of a 
profit. Everything was mortgaged up to the neck and finally Balle's en- 
thusiasm gave entirely out and he incontinently quit and returned to his 
first love, study work and a sure pay-day. 

Sohn and Rentschler assumed the load, and the heavier the load pressed 
the harder they worked. They pushed out for trade and they got it. They 
sought for customers seeking the finest grade of castings and they found 
those customers and they made those castings and they made money, and 
they have made money ever since and to-day are looked upon as two of the 
wealthiest men in the city. They own lots of real estate and are interested 
in numerous manufacturing enterprises, and in the language of the street^ 
they have money to sell. But no men have worked harder or given closer 
attention to business. To-day, or any day, Adam Rentschler will be found 
in his foundry with his coat off and Henry Sohn will be found digging at his 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 27 1 

office work. They still occupy the same shop, which has been much en- 
larged. They bought the place once but it was impossible to get a deed and 
so they remained tenants. 

There is something peculiar about the history of this institution and its 
product. Iron foundries are the commonest kind of institutions and if you 
want to buy castings the woods are full of places where you can get them 
and get them at any price you desire to pay. But there are castings and 
•castings. Some castings are hard and some are soft ; some are rough and 
some are smooth ; some are round cornered where they ought to be square 
cornered, and .some are square cornered where they ought to be round cor 
nered. There are situations where any kind of castings will answer and there 
are situations where the castings must be just so. Sohn and Rentschler 
early found out that there was a large class of custormers wanting small 
castings true to pattern, neither larger nor smaller nor more crooked nor 
less crooked. They accordingly gave special attention to matters of shrink- 
age and strains in small castings and became able to sell a reliable product. 
It has been the universal custom in foundries to buy the pig iron and them 
to mix as much scrap iron with it as the castings would stand. This, in small 
•castings, yields a hard product. Sohn and Rentschler found that there was 
a large demand lor small castings, requiring considerable drilling and other 
work, which should be pure and soft and they accordingly cut loose from 
the usual plan of mixtures and adopted pure iron regardless of cost, and the 
writer well remembers visiting their shop within the last year and not find- 
ing any scrap iron in the yard. They were working on mixtures of pure 
pig. If customers want their small castings cleaned up cheaply Sohn and 
Rentschler rattle them in a tumbling barrel, which is the usual cheap pro- 
cess, but this has a tendency to round off the sharp corners of delicate cast- 
ings. If customers want the sharp corners left on the castings Sohn and 
Rentschler clean them up in pickling vats. The difficulty of procuring the 
class of castings which Sohn and Rentschler supply to the trade may be 
judged from the fact that they are continually making large shipments to 
New York, Chicago and other distant points where iron foundries can be 
found by the hundred. They send to New York gray iron castings for elec- 
trical apparatuses which is so soft that it can be slightly rivited. Quite a 
number of very extensive manufacturers of small machinery, using castings 
by the car load, have long ago concluded that the success of their business 
rested too much upon theperfection of the castings to justify them in erecting 
their own foundries. It is]easy to build foundries and make castings, but it 
is extremely difficult to'make the quality of small castings called for in some 
line of manufacture. It is the satisfactory supply of such demands as this 
that has formed the basis of the success of SohnJ& Rentschler. 



VJi 



THE CRNNTHEENIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON O. 



THE BENTEL I IlIflRBEDflNT CD. 



X^^ood. ''\7;7"orl^iri.g- D^^eicliiD:^er37-. 



XN 1864-65 Mr. Charles E. McBeth, a machinist in Hamilton, com- 
menced the manufacture of small power presses, corn stalk cuttersi^ 
tobacco molds, shoe polishers and other small articles. In 1867 D. W. Mc- 
Clung, and later Jacob Schaffer, entered into partnership with Mr. McBeth 
to manufacture the Universal Wood Worker. They had bought a half in- 
terest in the patent and also the control of the other half. Mr. McClung 
soon retired, selling to Shaffer and in i86g Mr. Shaffer retired selling to Mr. 
W. C. Margedant. 




■■yM. 






■Ifit. 




J 



Mr. Margedant, from 1854 to 1859 had been working as a journeyman 
machinist in the old shop of Owens, Lane & Dyer and leaving that shop had 
become engineer and architect for Mr. John W. Sohn who was engaged in 
numerous enterprises recjuiring the services of such a man. Mr. Margedant 
had had a thorough technical education in PUirope and was a man of genius 
and energy. In 1870 Mr. Fred Bentel entered the concern. The firm was then 
manufacturing tobacco molds and the Universal Wood Worker. The Uni- 
versal Wood Worker was a machine of a great deal of merit and demand for 
it grew so large that the capacity of the shop required to be greatly increased. 
But in May 1873 a fire occurred imposing a loss of over six thousand dollars. 
The loss was a hard one for it destroyed valuable patterns and made a serious 
break in the business on which the prosperity of the owners depended and 
they were very hard up for money when rebuilding was imparative. Disputes 
arose over the rebuilding and Mr. McBeth retired, Mr. John W. Sohn taking 
his place as an equal partner. The rebuilding was completed and new pat" 
terns were made and to the line of manufacturing was added a full line of 



TH1<: CliNTKNNI \I, ANNI VICkSAKN' Ol' IIAMII/rON, O. 273 

■wood working machinery of the very latest and most original design, Mr. 
Margedant proving himself to be possessed of most admirable talents in this 
direction. The business prospered until the dull times of 18761879 when 
things took a Ijad turn, business being wretched, and debts pressing. The 
pressure became too great and Mr. Margedant and Mr. lientel both retired 
from the business, Mr. Sohn assuming the whole load and employing Mr. 
Margedant as manager on a .salery w'tli an interest in the profits. Business 
soon picked up and the capacity of the shop l^ecame over-taxed and it be- 
came necessary to work double turn night and day, and many orders were 
refused. Business relaxed again and it became necessary to make reductions 
at every point. But this depression pa.s.sed over and business again picked 
up. In 1885 the concern was incorporated under the style of the Bentel & 
Margedant Co., Mr. Margedant becoming a stockholder. On January nth, 
1889, Mr. Sohn died and Mr. Margedant purchased his stock. In 1889 the 
business was re-organized with Mr. Margedant as President and general 
manager, Mr. John T. Gardner Vice President and Superintendent ; and 
William I^. Huber Secretary and Treasurer. 

The business is in the best possible condition. Its products are known 
the world over and its machines are models of practical design and su])erior 
efficiency. The line of machines manufactured includes over three hundred 
different sizes and styles of regular machines, to say nothing of special 
machines which are lieing constantly devised for special work. In this line 
of special machnies this establishment has a most brilliant re])Utation, it be- 
ing well understood throughout the wood- working w(;rld that if some new 
and unheard of machine is wanted for s])ecially economical and more perfect 
proficiency in the wjrking of wood, the Bentel & Margedant Co., are always 
prepared to devi.se and construct it with the a.ssurance that the result will be 
satisfactory in the highest degree. F(;r instance, in the manufacture of 
vehicle wheels, where the closest economy and the greatest perfection in pro- 
duction is called for, the special machines of this establishment are the 
standard re(|uirement. This automatic refined machinery is of the utmost 
refined character and deals with the rough wood and produces the finished 
wheel. A specially has also been made of automatic machinery for the 
manufacture of wood pumps, and for railroad car works. An idea of the 
extensive product of the establishment may be gathered from the fiict that 
of the "Universal Wood Worker," a single machine in the long list of pro- 
ducts of this concern, over four thousand have been sold and they have gone 
into all the lands where wood is worked 

The shops are very extensive and are well equipped with the best mod- 
ern iron-working machinery for the production of wood-working machines, 
and the business is conducted with the most careful and conscientious super- 
vision with a constant thought as to the best interests of the customer. 



Illllllilillllllllllllllillllilllllllilf"'l'l''"'' 












.ss?// / / 

nM//E (SEiA \ / 1 .. 




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iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 



THE CKNThNXlAL ANXIVKRSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 275 

THE BECKETT PAPER COMPANY- 

In 1849 a party by the uame of Allen, began on a paper mill in Hamilton 
at the corner of Buckeye and Lowell Streets. He brought to the 
town two miU-wrights, John L. Martin and Frank Martin, to erect the mill 
and he brought Adam Laurie, a Scotch paper-maker, to run the mill. At 
that time the only paper mill in Hamilton was the Wrapping-paper Mill of 

Brwin, Kline & Co. 

Allen got in the foundations for the mill and then failed and left the 
Martins and Laurie in bad shape, stranded high and dry. 

At that time WiHiam Beckett was a lawyer in Hamilton, and so was F. 
D. Rigdon. The stranded mechanics consulted Beckett and the result was 
-that an arrangement was effected whereby the Martins and Beckett, uader 
the firm name of Beckett, Martins & Rigdon, undertook to put the proiec 
through. Beckett had one-third interest, John L- Martin one-third interest' 
and Frank Martin and Rigdon each one-sixth. This was in 1S49. A sixty- 
two inch machine was put in and the product was book and newspaper. 
Adam Laurie was foreman. The first year showed badly. In 1850 Beckett 
purchased the interest of the two Martins and the firm name was changed to 
Beckett & Rigdon. In 1852 a second machine was put in, this time a sixty- 
eight inch machine, and both machines were run on book and newspaper- 
About 1854 Mr. Adam Laurie took a one eighth interest in the mill, and the 
mill made money. In 1862 or 1863, Rigdon retired and the style of the firm 
was changed to Beckett & Laurie. In 1870 Mr. Adam Laurie, Jr. who had 
learned the trade in the mill, was taken into the firm, and the style of the firm 
was changed to Beckett, Laurie & Company. 

The two machines had been tunning on book and new.-paper, but dur- 
ing the war the product drifted somewhat into colored papers for poster and 
cover work. No other mill in the West was then making colored papers. 
To make these colored papers was a great trick in the trade, and Mr. Adam 
Laniie was a special artist in this line and the reputation of the papers of 
this mill became so great that the colored papers began to predominate m 
the product or the mill and in 1875 or '76 everything else was abandoned 
and since that time the mill has made only colored papers. 

Young Tom Beckett had learned the trade in the mill, and in 1885 he 
was taken into the firm. In 1887 or '88 the Beckett's bought out both the 
Lauries and the concern was incorporated as the Beckett Paper Company, 
with one hundred thousand dollars capital, with William Beckett as Presi- 
dent and Thomas Beckett Secretary and Treasurer. The mill was rebuilt 
from stem to stern the two old machines were thrown out and a single sixty 
-eight inch machine was put in. This new machine was built by the Black 



276 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

& Clawson Co. in Hamilton. 

Paper-machines to day look very much as they did many years ago, but 
the mill of the Beckett Paper Co. furnishes a splendid example of the results 
of modern improvements in construction and in details, and in the running 
speed of paper machines. The capacity of the two old machines, one sixty- 
two inch and one sixty-eight inch, was two and one-half tons of paper per day 
and the capacity of the single sixty-eight inch machine now in use is five 
tons per day. In other words, half the machinery produces double the pro- 
duct, a four fold increase. 

The product of the mill is exclusively colored papers, but the lower 
grade of paper for posters, &c., has been entirely abandoned and the mill 
now runs entirely upon the finest grades of colored papers for book covers. 
In this line of trade the product of this mill stands in the highest rank and 
it has a market^all over the country. The two Becketts give personal at- 
tention to the business. Tom runs the mill and runs the office, and Mr. 
Beckett, Sr., does all the traveling. 



THE COLUMBIA. 



^mi' 



'HIS is a comparatively new establishment, having started in business this 
year with excellent facilities and most flattering prospects. The firm 
is composed of R. A. Davis, J. E. Wright, R. L- Hedges and T. ly. Curley. 
Messrs. Davis, Wright & Curley have had long experience in the carriage 
business. Mr. Hedges is from Kansas City. Business was started in Febru- 
ary, 1 89 1. The premises were leased of the Hamilton Distilling Company and 
were entirely remodeled to suit the new business, and the result is a commo- 
dious establishment well suited to the manufacture and storage of the in- 
tended product. The factory is directly upon the C. H. & D. Railroad and 
on the line of the Electric Railway. The factory was completely equipped 
with entirely new machinery. The success of the new firm has been great- 
er than was contemplated. The expectation was that at the outside one 
thousand rigs would be shipped this year, but these figures have been far ex- 
ceeded and the shipments so far have amounted to fifteen hundred. In in- 
stalling this busiue.ss the owners determined to avoid entirely the low grade 
markets, and accordingly, to establish the grade betwen the medium and 
highest grades of carriage work. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O 



277 



THE II P. DEU8GHER GOMPHNY, 

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS ETC. 



Xl, p. DEUSCHER was a farmer who had been in various business en- 
Mm^ \, . terprises in other places than Hamilton, and was engaged in Ham- 
ilton in the malting business with Israel Williams. In 1879 he contemplated 
starting the hardware and implement business in the establishment of the 




Variety Iron Works. It was a riskj^ venture, and te ccnsulted his personal 
friend William E. Brown, of the Second National Bank, who had frequently 
helped him Mr. Brown sat squarely down on the project and prophesied 
the most dismal failure and refused to encourage it in any way. and promised 
to withhold his help if needed in case the venture went forward. But Mr. 
Deucher took the rash step and soon found himself in hot water and Mr. 
Brown's prophesy became nearly being fulfilled. This was in 1879 and to- 



278 THE CENNTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

day Mr. Deuscher's establishment is entirely free from debt and has been 
many times enlarged, and he has a most magnificent business, his sales at 
present amounting to a thousand dollars a day. It was a pure case of nerve 
and energ}^ and splendid management, with very little of the element of luck 
about it. The first implements made were the Barbour Corn Drills, and in 
•connection with this business the castings were made for the well known 
"fashion" school-desk and the castings were also made for the Implement 
Works of Norris Brothers. Later the McColm Soil Pulverizer was taken up 
and then the "Victor" Churn and then the "Favorite" Churn, later the "Ham- 
ilton" Corn Planter, and Check row Corn Planter, Horse Hay Rakes, Disk 
Harrows, Folding Harrows, and I^ever Harrows were gone into. The trade 
was pushed in every direction and a market found in every state in the 
union. Of the Hamilton Corn Planters alone, five thousand have been sold, 
and certain meritorious points in their construction have formed the model 
which has revolutionized the Corn Planter trade. The school desk business 
has increased enormously. The first year Mr. Deuscher made seventeen 
hundred of these desks and this year he has made eight thousand of them. 
In 1888 Mr. Deuscher turned his business into a corporation with an incor- 
porated capital of fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Deuscher is the owner of the 
business and gives it his personal attention. His establishment occupies 
five acres at Seventh and Hanover Streets. 

GEORGE F. HUTCHINSON & CO. 

Omni Cilrant the Kino of Pain. 

/--^ BOUT thirty years ago Dr. J.J. McBride had a prescription for a remedy 
(OsV for ^11 manner of aches and pains, from toothache to rheumatism. 
„^ \^^ He traveled and sold the medicine largely, and Mr. Henry Van- 
Derveer traveled with him for a while and received the formula, and, ulti- 
mately, began the manufacture and sale of the medicine on his own account, 
he and Dr. McBride operating in different parts of the country. Dr. McBride 
died and Mr. VanDerveer kept up the busine.ss in a small way. 

In 1886 George Hutchinson went into the business with Mr. VanDer- 
veer and the manufacture of the medicine was established in Hamilton under 
the name of G. F. Hutchinson & Co. In 1887 Mr. VanDerveer retired and 
Mr. Hutchinson has since continued the business under the old name and 
has pushed it extensively. The laboratory was established on the corner of 
Third and High Street, and from there the medicine was shipped to the var- 
ious selling points. Seven travelers are employed, and in addition to the 
sales made by them there is an established demand throughout the country. 



THK CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O, 279, 



The Fisher Ice Tool Company. 



W I R. J. F. FISHER was an edge-tool maker and had been extensively 
vj V , _ , ^ engaged in the business in Hamilton for manj' years, and his son 
Joseph Fisher learned the trade with him. Mr. Fisher finally sold his busi- 
ness to M. Bare and Joseph Fisher, became Mr. Bare's Superintendent. 

In 18S8 Joseph Fisher, Jacob lyOrenz, and Mr. Herman Augspurger 
established the Fisher Ice Tool Co., with an incorporated capital of ten 
thousand dollars. The line of manufacture included ice-harvesting tools and, 
ice-elevating machinery. A specialty was made of a double ice-marker 
which Mr. Fi>her had lately invented, and this implement is practically 
superceding the old single line markers in all of the ice-harvesting fields of 
the country. In connection with this implement the surprising fact de- 
veloped that it took less power to cut two grooves in the ice than it did to 
cut one. The new implement did just twice the work of the old one and did 
it easier. 

The line of products of the Company includes every machine or 
implement used in the ice trade, and these goods are found wherever ice is- 
harvested or handled. 

The growth of the business in the hands of these pushing men may be 
judged from the fact that for the season of 1888-90, the first season after be- 
ginning business, the sales were nine thousand dollars. The second season 
of 1889-90 they were twenty-one thousand dollars. The last season, that of 
1890-91, they were thirty-three thousand dollars. 

In 1889 Mr. Augspurger retired irom the business, which is now owned 
entirely by Mr. Fisher and Mr. Lorenz. New products have lately been ad- 
ded to the list and the establishment is now engaged largely in making 
metallic poles for electric railways, and also metallic specialties employed 
in electric railway work. Steel street-crossings are also being made. 

3Z). Hvdl- S1::E]T7■:H12^TS03^T- 
lE^-u.rrxit'ULre Specia^lties. 

Mr. Stevenson had been engaged in Cincinnati for some years in the 
manufacture of furniture specialties and, in 1888, he removed to Hamilton, 
taking shop-room at Water and Market streets. He manufactures, 
lodge-room furniture which finds its market among the secret orders of the 
country. He has lately taken up the manufacture of folding beds of his^ 
own invention. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. a8i 

SHULER & wwmm. 






-' HE two brothers Breidenbauch in 1853 had a dry goods store in Hamil- 
ton and took a notion to make the woolens which they sold. These 
two with Jerry Andrum and Titus Shuler and Asa Shuler, under the name 
of Breidenbauch & Co., started a woolen mill in the building now standing on 
Fourth Street between the shops ot Long & AUstatter Co. and the Bentel & 
Margedant Co., the old building now forming a part of the Long & AUstatter 
shop. About five thousand dollars wass put into the business. The two 
Shulers were carpenters and Andrum was to be the woolen mill man. They 
put in lour narrow looms, one wide loom, one spinning-mule, and one set of 
cards. They made yarns, cashmeres, blankets and flannels. All were sold 
either in Hamilton or in Cincinnati, the business being strictly local. Pay 
was taken mostly in trade, 

The first year they managed to lose nine hundred dollars and Mr. An. 
•drum retired in disgust. Mr. Asa Schuler assumed the management of the 
mill and the business was pushed into new markets and with great success. 
In 1858 Mr. J. W. Benninghofen bought the interests of the Breidenbauch 
Brothers and the firm name was changed to Shuler & Benninghofen. Mr. 
Benninghofen was clerk in the Brewery of John W. Sohn and he remained 
a clerk in the Brewery for a year after he bought his interest in the woolen 
mill. 

In 1862 the present mill was built, on the corner of Heaton and Lowell 
Streets, and when the new mill was done a double set of machinery was put 
in. 

In 1854 the mill made its first felt for use on a paper machine. This 
was bought and used by Shuey & McGuire for their paper-mill in Hamilton, 
It was not an endless felt, but was seamed. Paper-makers felts were made 
right along to some extent and in 1866 the mill made its first endless felt 
This felt trade has grown enormously and this mill now has two-thirds of 
the Western trade on paper-makers felts and the reputation of these felts is 
the very highest. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. Benninghofen died and his two sons, Chris and Peter took 
liis place in the mill where they can always be found, every day in the week. 

The mill now makes paper-makers felts, up to one hundred and twenty- 
six inches in width ; blankets of the finest grades ; woven woolen skirts both 
endless and pieced ; flannels, yarns and skirting flannels. The widest loom 
is two hundred and sixty inches. The trade of this mill now extends all 
over the United States with trade connections in Mexico, Japan and other 
foreign countries. 












Jr'f 





THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVKKSAKY OF HAMIi.TON, O. 283 



5}iE }iiJCP5 HFC- W. 

(;rair)-eleapir)(5 fT\ael?irjiiry eK 

In 1849 Learned & Hughes patented certain improvements in grain-clean- 
ing machinery, and at this time, the art was in its infancy. In i860 Hughes 
patented the volute system of bran duster. The business of manufacturing 
and selling this machinery was carried on in Hamilton by Mr. Hughes and 
various other associates for quite a number of years and with magnificent 
success, the machines being sold very extensively and at handsome profits. 
The business was finally incorporated as the Stephen Hughes Manufacturing 
Co. and was operated by Mr. Stephen Hughes and Mr. Robert Hughes. 

The manufacturing business was conducted in the shop formerly occu- 
pied by Black & Clawson on the-'corner ot Water and Market Streets. 

In 1882 the Edmands Manufacturing Company was tormed and engaged 
in the manufacture of grain-cleaning machinery, Mr. Edmands being the 
moving spirit ar^d Mr. Heimsath his principle colleague. Upon the death of 
Mr. Edmands, Mr. Heimsath became Superintendent, and finally purchased 
the entire business. 

In 1887 Mr. Robert Hughes and Mr. Heimsath formed the Standard 
Grain-cleaner Co. which took over the business of the Edmands Manufac- 
turing Company, the factory being located in the Morey factory building at 
the West end of High Stre^et." In 1890 the Hughes Manufacturing Co. was 
incorporated, forming a consolidation of the Stephen Hughes Manufacturing 
Co. and the Standard Grain- Cleaner Co., taking up the manufacture of their 
combined products, the principal owners being Stephen Hughes and Robert 
Hlighes. In June 1891 both of the Messrs Hughes retired. Mr. H. P. 
f)euscher is now President of the Company, Mr. F. C Heimsath VicePresi- 
'dent and Treasurer, and Mr. W. H. Stephen Secretary. They occupy their 
own new lactory on Water Street, a brick structure operated by water power. 
The concern manufactures wheat separators, graders, smutters, corn-cleaners 
and separators, flour feeders and mixers, flour blenders and vertical and 
horizontal bran dusters ; in all a line of fifty-three sizes and styles of machine 
The machines have been sold by the thousand all over the known world 
where grain cleaning machinery is used. 



284 THK CKNTKNNIAL A.NNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

THE BESS IWRGHINE CO.. 

Xja,-u.rLd.r37- l^^.ol:iliOL&xy Sz :E=a.per Slitters, 



\_ N 1884 Albert Bess finished a three years apprenticeship as a machinist 
in the shop of Black & Clawson. He was then twenty-one years old. 
In 1888 while working in the shop of Black & Clawson he invented a slitting 
cutter to be applied to paper making machines to cut the wide web into nar- 
rower webs as the paper ran from the machine. Paper slitters of various 
kinds were quite old but Mr. Bess' contrivance had many points of decided 
superiority. At this time there was in Boston the Koegel Slitter Co, whose 
sHtters were being quite extensively sold. 

Mr. Bess had no money, except his weekly pay as a machinist, but he 
had a foot-lathe in his kitchen at home, and when he got up his new-fangled 
slitter nothing would do but he must start a machine shop of his own. He 
borrowed fifteen dollars of the First National Bank, with Mr. Robert An- 
drews as security, and then went to the Beckett Paper Company and got 
their order for four slitters, Bess to take in pay for them an old lathe which 
was in the paper mill, and he got the lathe in advance. He now had two 
lathes and he rented a place and started his establishment, entirely without 
capital. Mr. Black, of Black & Clawson, was good enough to say "If you 
get t®o hard up you can come up to our shop and work awhile." Mr. Bess 
did find himself too hard up, and while he was the proprietor of a machine 
shop himself he could generally be found at work at Black &Clawson's shop. 
But while he worked as a journeyman at Black & Clawsons for the sure 
thing of weekly pay he kept a machinist or two at work in his own institu- 
tion. 

The new-paper-slitter was an admirable arrangement and sold on sight. 
Mr. Bess got his first hundred dollars from sales of slitters made to the 
Friend & Forgy Paper Co. at Franklin, Ohio, and he borrowed another hun- 
dred dollars with Mr. Montgomery of Oxford as security. He was now a 
manufacturer and a capitalist with debts and went at business with vigor. 

But the Koegel Slitter Co., claiming a monopoly in improved paper 
slitters, notified Mr. Bess to stop infringing on their patent. Mr. Bess took 
council and was advised to go ahead. The Koegel Slitter Co. then sent 
agents and finally an attorney to size up Mr. Bess, and every effort was made 
to bulldoze him. The efforts would have succeeded with ninety-nine men 
out of one hundred but Mr. Bess was not a man to be bulldozed. He got 
his patent on his own invention and sold his slitters and told his opponents 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O, 285 

to crack the whip. And the crack of the whip in the United States Court is 
no small matter for any manufacturer. Mr. Bess managed to save up one 
hundred and thirty dollars and proposed to take a trip in the far East among 
the paper mills with his slitter. Mr. Clawson, of Black & Clawson, told him 
that he did not think it would take him long to 'blow^ in" the one hundred 
and thirty dollars, but he was mistaken. Mr. Bess was gone thirteen days 
and the net profits of the trip were six hundred and fifty dollars. 

The Koegel Slitter Co. now boiled over and began a patent suit against one 
of Mr. Bess' customers in Franklin, Ohio, and Mr. Bess gave a thousand dollar 
bond of indemnity to the Defendant and took upon himself the full defense of 
the suit, employing Messrs. Parkinson & Parkinson, of Cincinnati, Ohio, as 
his counsel. The case was fought through the Court and Mr. Bess came 
out with flying colors, and the decision rendered by the Court was one of the 
most serious rebukes yet given to a patentee who seeks to squelch independ- 
ent and superior improvements. 

But Mr. Bess desired more extensive fields of manufacturing and con- 
templated the production of a full line of laundry machinery for steam 
laundries. He knew nothing about this kind of machinery and in fact he had 
seen little of it, but he took the bull by the horns and started a laundry and 
equipped it with the best modern machinery and operated it for ten months 
until he knew all about laundry machinery, and then sold it out, coming out 
without loss. He then got up a full line of steam laundry machinery of the 
most modern and ingenious construction and is now in full swing under the 
style of the Bess Machine Co. with an incorporated capital of twenty-five 
thousand dollars, with himself as President and his brother Arthur as Secre- 
tary and Treasurer. The establishment has moved into a larger shop with 
greatly increased facilities and is now in contemplation of much more ex- 
tensive enlargements, it being found impossible to keep up with the orders 
on hand, the paper slitters alone making a very respectable manufacturing 
business. They are now the standard article in this line and are specified for 
all first-class paper machines and orders are filled for them by the hundreds. 

Mr. Bess has now in contemplation the erection of a model laundry for 
the special purpose of exhibiting to visiting customers a full line of the Bess 
laundry machinery in practical operation. 

It would be impossible for a young manufacturer to have brighter pros- 
pects. 










iiiiiiiiiiiieis 






ijraf ^^1" t5^^ 












THB CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 287 

THE LOKG & ELLSTflTTER COf ()!!. 

Punching and Shearing Machinery 
and Agricultural Innplennents, 



In 1855 56 John M. Long, a niacliniht, was foreman in the old Owens 
Lane & Dyer shop. Peter Black owned a shop on Water Street on the 
north side of present Market Street- He was a blacksmith and did a genera 
blacksmith business. Robert Allstatter was a file cutter and in 1854 he hadl 
rented room in Black's shop and the firm of Allstatter & Scheisman cut files 
and sickles for a living. In 1856 the parties got together and the firm of 
Long, Black & Allstatter started business in Black's shop. Long & All- 
statter had a few hundred apiece and Black owned the shop, which had 
water power. The new concern did a general small jobbing business and 
made a few broom-handles, lathes and made sickles for manufactures of 
mowers and reapers. They supplied sickles for reaper-makers in Spring- 
field and other places, and in some cases, made the finger-bars also. 

In 1887 they began studying reapers and in that year built two com- 
bined mowing and reaping machines, entirely of metal, and known as the 
"Iron Harvester." There was a big reaper trial at Hamilton and these 
machines got second premium, missing the first because they had no self 
rake. There had been iron mowers but these were the first iron reapers 
built in the country. They sold none the first year, as these machines were 
built merely for a test. In 1858 they sold sixty-five machines which gave 
them a good test. 

In doing their sickle work they found that all their punching and shear- 
ing machines made in the country were inefiicient and they therefore got up 
machines of their own, and these punching and shearing machines were so 
superior that they were called upon to fill orders for them from many manu- 
facturers of reapers &c. In 1859 the concern sold three hundred harvesters. 
The reaper men did not much hke the idea of their sickle-makers going into 
the harvester business but still in this year the concern sold about fifteen 
thousand sickles. In i860 they sold eight hundred of the iron harvesters 
at good prices and at good profits. The concern had a splendid opening 
but were too timid to build in advance of actual sales. The punching- 
machine business was constantly growing and improved machines were con- 
stantly being gotten out and sold to various branches of trade, car works, 
safe makers, and others. In this year the shop took up the manufacture of 



2.S8 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

two horse corn drills, seed drills and feed cutters. In 1861-62 business fell 
off owing to the war and the high price of iron. In 1863 the manufacture 
of hay rakes was taken up and this year about eight hundred harvesters were 
sold and a great deal was done in supplying cultivator points and such 
things to other manufacturers of implements, the experience of the shop in 
punching and shearing and polishing having put them in a superior position 
in this direction. About this time property on the south side of the street, 
across from the water-power canal was bought. It was the old Hamilton and 
Rossville Female Academy where the City Building now stands and was 
bought for twenty-five hundred dollars, and the factory now occupied both 
shops, which were connected by a shaft across the street. About 1871 Mr. 
Black retired and the firm became Long & Allstatter, with a right to remain 
in the old shop two years, Mr. Black conducting a blacksmith and machine 
shop in the northern part of the premises, where he started into the portable 
engine business. In 1893 Long & Allstatter got into their new shop on the 
corner of Fourth and High streets and soon dropped the manufacture of 
harvesters as self-binders were then becoming fashionable and they had 
not succeeded in getting one that was satisfactory. They took up plows and 
sulky-plows and cultivators, and pushed the sickle bvrsiness and the punch- 
ing and shearing machines. They soon received a severe blow from the 
panic. In 1874 Mr. Charles McBeth and Mr. Herman Snyder came into the 
firm and the firm name was changed to Long & Allstatter Co. Mr. Mc- 
Beth had been in the firm of Bentel & Margedant Co. leaving it after their 
fire. In 1878 the concern was incorporated as the Long & Allstatter Co. 
with two hundred thouasnd dollars capital, and a lew additional small stock- 
holders came in. In 1881 the sickle business had grown greatly, the con- 
cern being the second largest in the business. The other sickle manufac- 
turers wanted a trust formed but the arrangement did not suit the Long & 
Allstatter Co. so they sold the business out on highly satisfactory terms. 
The}- were then making about fifty thousand sickles per year and lots of 
complete cutting apparatuses for harvesters. The business has since been 
pushed in the other branches and with eminent success. The punching and 
shearing machines have been kept up to the highest notch and the concern 
is now the acknowledged leader in the world in this line of machines. The 
establishment now makes about seven thousand cultivators ; nirre thousand 
horse rakes ; and two hundred punching and shearing machines a year, be- 
sides large numbers of .straw cutters, cotton planters, plows, &c. The shop 
has been much enlarged and now covers three acres. Mr. John M. Long is 
President, Mr. Joe Long Vice President, Mr. McBeth Secretary and Treas- 
urer, and Mr. John M. W. Long Superintendent. All of these men are 
thoroughly practical shop men and give personal and constant attention to 
the business. A few years ago Mr. Allstatter retired entirely from active 
business. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 289 

The Albet^t Fisher rnanufactuping Co, 

CanneFS and Can CDakePs. 

(nOrl^BERT FISHER & CO., had been engaged for many years in Cin- 
'^-^ >s»^ cinnati as canners of vegetables, the firm making its own cans 
by ordinary hand process. In 1885 the concern moved to Hamilton and 
built a new factory on Third Street near Bl ick, the business at this time be- 
ing incorporated as The Albert Fisher Manufacturing Co., Albert Fisher 
President, Charles Fisher Secretary and Treasurer. In Cincinnati the goods 
to be canned had been purchased in the market, but when the business was 
installed in Hamilton, preparations were made for raising the vegetables, as 
far as possible. Farms were accordingly purchased and leased luitil now this 
establishment cultivates about one thousand acres of land. The goods 
packed consist of tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, and vegetables generally. The 
market for these goods is all over the United States and the well known 
"Star" brand of canned goods stands high in the estimation of users. 

The growing business would no longer permit of the cans being made 
by hand, and accordingly, the latest modern machinery was put in for their 
manufacture, and even the most modern machinery was greatly improved 
upon and original machines were devised and built until finally the can-mak- 
ing part of the establishment was in a position not only to produce its own 
cans, but to sell cans largely to other canning factories. The large factory 
has been very greatly enlarged and now has a capacity of one hundred 
thousand cans per day. These cans are sold to canning factories all over 
the West and South and as far East as Buffalo. In addition to cans, the 
automatic machinery is also employed in the manufacture of lard pails and 
buckets, which are sold largely. 

THe Sohngsn and Brown Co. 

I^SLn"u.fa.ct"ULrers of liv^a/ize ZLv^Tsult. 

v_' HE old Canal Mill, at the head of Dayton Street on the Canal, had been 
^J idle, and in 1888 The Sohngen & Brown Company was incorporated 
with a capital of twenty thousand dollars, with Charles Sohngen, President, 
William B. Brown, Vice President, and George P. Sohngen, Secretary and 
Treasurer. The old mill was completely cleaned out and entirely new ma- 
chinery put in, adapted for the manufacturing of maize malt. The work is 
done by roller-mills entirely and two thousand bushels of corn per day are 
ground and the product is sold in New York, Philadelphia, and the East 
generally. Mr. Brown runs the business at the mill and the office is with 
the Sohngen Malting Co., corner of C and Franklin streets. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 29 1 

The Hamilton Foundry & Machine Company. 

General Iron Foundries. 

V OST of the larger machine establishments in Hamilton have their 
J \^ own foundries and large and roomy and well equipped foundries 
are they. There are also three concerns doing jobbing foundry business. 
These latter concerns supply those shops which have not their own 
foundries and also furnish castings for use abroad. Notwithstanding the 
extent of Hamilton foundries, the amount of castings used in the various 
industries is so great that the foundries cannot keep up, and a number 
of concerns have been obliged to order large quantities of castings from 
abroad. It is the intention of the Hamilton Foundry & Machine Co. to 
supply this demand and to see that hereafter the City of Hamilton is a 
larger seller of castings instead of a buyer. Heavy work is to receive 
especial attention. The foundry is one hundred by three hundred feet, with 
a melting capacity of fifteen tons per day, and the equipment for dealhig 
with the heaviest class of machine casting is probably superior to anything 
in the State. The factory is located on the Panhandle Railroad at Lincoln 

Avenue. 

The Company was incorporated in 1891. Adam Rentschler is Presi- 
dent: Frederick Thomma, Vice President : J. C Hooven, Trea.surer : and 
Earl Hooven, Secretary. 

The Advance ITQanafactamng Co. 

[CideP IVLills, lee Tools. 

THE NEW MALES Manufacturing Co. had for Isome time been en- 
gaged in the manufacture of cider mills and ice harvesting tools. 
In 1888 The Advance Manufacturing Co. was incorporated, with fifty 
thousand dollars capital, William Ritchie, President ; F. Doeller, Secretary 
and Treasurer, and H. Lashorn, Superintendent. The new concern bought 
out the New Males Manufacturing Co. and bought proparty and built the 
new shop on the Panhandle Railroad and the Canal, near High street 

The American cider mill is made in three sizes. An extended variety 
of ice harvesting tools and implements are made, and ttie Little Giant Power 
Converter, for use in connection with wind mills, is also largely manufact- 
ured. The new concern has gotten along prosperously and the business is 
growing. 



292 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

W GORDOfI STEM PUMP GOpP^Y, 

Two pattern makers in Cincinnati, Messrs. Cope & Maxwell, devised and 
patented an improved steam pump and, in a small way, they began 
its manufacture. The business grew upon them and they took in partners 
with capital and formed the Cope & Maxwell Manufacturing Company. 
Their factory in Cincinnati was on the usual city style, heavy work being 
done in upper stories and no possible chance for extensions. In 187 1 the 
establishment moved to Hamilton and erected a splendid factory with facili- 
ties for doing the work properly. They still retained the business office in 
Cincinnati, but the important fact is to be noted that within one year after 
moving to Hamilton there were more Cope & Maxwell pumps pumping 
water in Egypt than in Cincinnati, and to-day there is no country in the world 
in which they are not well known. These steam pumps were made for every 
possible duty and of a great variety of sizes. 

In 1873 the establishment built its first water- works pumping-engine for 
supplying the city with water. This machine was erected at Newport, Ken- 
tucky, and was followed in 1874 by the pumping-enginesfor the water-works 
at Clinton, Iowa, and in 1875 by the water-works engines of Anamosa, Iowa, 
and the Athens Ayslum, of Ohio, and in 1876 by the engines at Logansport, 
Indiana, and others. 

In 1884 Mr. Cope retired and the entire establishment was purchased by 
the Gordon & Maxwell Company, a new Company composed of Messrs. Gor- 
don, McKinney & Gaff of the Niles Tool Works, and Mr. Maxwell of the 
former Company. Soon after that Mr. Maxwell retired entirely from active 
manufacturing business and entered upon the profession of Consulting En- 
gineer, and in 1890 the name of the concern was changed to the Gordon 
Steam Pump Co. 

The shop has been many times enlarged until now it is very extensive 
and splendidly equipped and turning out an enormous output of everything 
in the way of steam pumping machinery, principally duplex steam pumps 
for general purposes and water-works engines for the supply of municipali- 
ties. 

The first steam pump manufactured by the concern had fixed upon it a 
small plate bearing the legend "No. i" and ever since that the practice has 
been followed of consecutively marking the machines sent out. The number 
of the last plate, at the present time of writing was 8290. The variety of 
product will be understood from the fact that the number of styles and sizes 
of steam pumps for which patterns are on hand and for which orders are be- 
ing constantly filled is nine hundred. The capacity of the establishment, as 
large as it is, is always over-taxed and night work is constantly being done. 

Special attention has been given to water-works engines for cities, and 
up to the present writing this establishment has furnished two hundred and 
seven pumping engines for water-works use, and it may be of interest to 
note that these water-works pumping engines have been distributed as fol- 
lows, viz : Alabama i, Arkansas i, Colorado 3, Canada 4, Dakota 2, Delaware 
I, Georgia 3, Illinois 19, Indiana 11, Iowa 21, Kansas 4, Kentucky 3, Miss- 
issippi I, Minnesota 2, Missouri 3, Montana 2, Michigan 18, New York 4, 
New Jersey 4, Nebraska i, North Carolina i, Ohio 48, Pennsylvania 17, 
Tennessee i, Texas 7, Virginia 2, West \'irginia 4, Washington 2, Wiscon- 
sin 6. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAxMILTON. O. 293 

jVIflCflEflLiE 8t URBflri 
Safe and Lioek Company. 

J^N the forties C. Urban^was a locksmith in Cincinnati and in 1847 or 1848 

he began the manufacture of safes. vSafes were at that time merely 
extra strong treasure boxes or "strong" boxes, and there was nothing that 
could make any pretensions to being burglar-proof and little more could be 
said about fire-proof qualities, a fire-proof safe in those earlier days being a 
thin iron box lined with wood, wood kept from air being recognized as a 
poor conductor of heat and a material of slow combustion. But Mr. Wilder, 
of New York, had patented a new system of fire proof safe, an iron box lined 
with plaster, and it was under the Wilder patent that Mr. Urban began his 
operations. But as lowly as the safe-makers art was at that time, Mr. Urban 
was a safe-maker in the fullest sense, making his own safes and locks com- 
plete on the premises. In 1855 W. B. Dodds, not a mechanic, was taken 
into the business and the firm became Urban, Dodds & Co. In 1857 Mr- 
Urban died and his interest was bought by Dodds and the business continued 
as W. B. Dodds &Co. In 1859 Mr. Neil Macneale, a Civil Engineer, entered 
the firm, but the name remained unchanged. 

Mr. Herman Urban had learned the trade in his fatlier's shop, begin- 
ning work in 1857 and was, at that time, foreman of the shop. In 1863 he 
bought a one third interest in the business and the firm became Dodds, 
Macneale & Urban. In 1870 Dodds retired and the firm became Macneale 
& Urban. 

In 1890 the new and splendid factory was built at Hamilton, occupying 
ten acres and having a capacity to work six hundred men and turn out fitty 
to sixty safes per day, in addition to an immense amount of the most modern 
character of burglar-proof vault work, safe deposit work, etc. etc. 

In 1 89 1 the firm was changed to a corporation under the name of The 
Macneale & Urban Safe & Lock Co. 

H. Urban President, Neil Macneale Sec'y and Treas. 

The history of this concern is almost the history of the art of safe-mak- 
ing. About 1855 the important change was made from plaster to cement 
composition as the fire resisting material for the filHng for fire proof safes. 
The conflict between the Safemaker and the burglar came on. 
In the earlier years two quarter-inch iron plates with a quarter inch 
hard steel plate between them, giving a wall three-fourths of an inch thick 
was considered the acme of burglar-proof construction. Later the thickness 
of plates and the number of plates was increased and the material was radi" 






j k 




THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 295; 

cally changed. About 1866 the laminated construction came in, each plate 
being composed of alternate layers of iron and steel welded together. Mac- 
neale & Urban have at all times been with the advance guard in the march 
of improvements, and the burglar-proof work constructed by them today 
with thick walls of "malacent" steel would dumbfound the older safe- 
makers and safe-breakers. 

The older safes of the best construction were locked with key locks and 
great was the ingenuity expended in the contrivance of these locks and in 
the contrivance of means for picking them. The crown jewels of England 
were guarded by the celebrated Chubbs locks and the great Bramah, he of 
hydraulic-press fame, had invented the celebrated Bramah lock, and for 
years there had hung in his window in London one of his locks with an at- 
tached document offering two hundred guineas for the instrument that 
would open it. Chubbs locks and Bramah locks were considered unpick- 
able. At this time the World's Fair in London was in full blast. The 
American Consul said: "The Americans have about one-eighth of the build- 
ing in London to exhibit in and there are three barrels of shoe pegs and a 
bundle of brooms as exhibits. The American exhibit is a failure. " Mr. 
Hobbs, an American lock expert, visited the Exhibition and gave the 
American side of it a new and sensational character, for he picked the cele- 
brated Chubbs and Bramah locks. These were key locks. He had picked 
all key locks which had been presented to him. He picked the dial lock of 
William Brown, "Lock-maker to Her Majesty. " 

About i860 the combination lock, dispensing entirely with the key, and 
dispensing entirely with the idea of either fixed or movable wards, came 
into vogue as the result of the exposures made by Hobbs regarding the 
weakness of key and ward locks. 

The modern combination lock is distinctly recognized as belonging to 
an unpickable class. Macneale & Urban had always made their own locks, 
followiijg closely the improvements in the art, and often leading them, and 
took up earnestly the manufacture of the combination locks which they 
have continued ever since, all Macneale & Urban safes being guarded by 
Macneale & Urban combination locks. 

The work of this concern goes all over the known world and selling 
agencies are established in all important cities in the country and al.so in 
Honlulu. Melbourne, Sydney, Paris, Calcutta, Kingston and SanLuis, Po- 
tosi. Work has been sold to many of tbe foreign legations. Work is now 
under way in the shop for the German legation in Berlin and four big jobs 
for Stuttgart. Thirteen burglar proof vaults are now in proce.ss of con- 
struction for Eastern cities, Bangor, Maine; Bradford, Connecticut ; Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; etc. etc. Last month work was shipped to the Government 
Treasury of the Sandwich Islands, and Macneale & Urban have been con. 
suited by the official architect of the National Bank of Spain. 



296 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

The Phenix Caster Company, 



FUHNlTUf^E CASTEf^. 



A 



.LONG ill 1874 Alexander Martin, a saw maker of Hamilton, got it into 
his head that ordinary furniture casters wore out carpets and made 
too much work for the women folks. The casters rolled hard, and in turning 
the corner they pivoted on a single point and tended to tear holes in the car- 
pet. Mr. Martin thereupon began to invent. He rigged up a little shop 
and put in two solid years in inventing casters and testing them and failing. 
But finally he struck the right thing and patented the celebrated Martin two 
wheel caster. It would move with great ease, and in turning a corner, one 
of the wheels would move one way and the other the other way and there 
was thus no tendency for it to bore holes in the floor. Mr. Martin would 
spread a piece of tissue paper on the carpet and then roll and twist a little 
truck, provided with his casters, around on the paper and show that there was 
no puckering tendency whatever and that the heavy load moved with the ut- 
most ease. He showed it to all his friends who would look at it and they all 
admired it and smiled. He was in rather bad straits financially and finally 
sold the patent to William Ritchie for five hundred dollars, Ritchie caring 
nothing whatever for the patent, which he took simply because Martin in- 
sisted on his taking it as some sort of an exchange for the five hundred dol- 
lars which Ritchie let him have. But the next day, as hard up as Martin was, 
he traded back, much to Richie's delight. 

Everybody appeared to ridicule the caster as a thing out of which Mar- 
tin could make any money and Martin was looked upon as an inventor who 
was foolishly wasting his time. He took his models to large hardware con- 
cerns in Cincinnati and these men gave him the laugh. They let him make 
exhibitions with his tissue paper, &c., and then said they would not have the 
thing as a gift ; that there never had been any demand for such a thing and 
never would be; that furniture casters were good enough, and that if an in- 
ventor had any sense he would set his wits to work to contrive cheaper ways 
of making the present casters instead of getting up new fangled ones that 
were bound to cost very much more than the old styles. Martin came home 
again with his models, thinking none the less of them however. 

Messrs. Sohn and Rentschler had gotten out of the woods, and their shop 
was next door to that of Martin and they saw so much of Martin and his 
casters that some of Martin's enthusiasm began to rub off" on them. Messrs. 
Tucker ^ Dorsey were in contact with the hardware trade in Indianapolis and 
had had many close dealings with Sohn and Rentchler. Sohn and Rentchler 
talked to Tucker and Dorsey about the caster and finally the four joined 
h"nds and made a royalty contract with Martin. The terms of this contract, 
when they became known, excited more smiles than Martin's caster ever had, 
for that contract obligated these four men to pay Martin a big royalty on 
each caster and to sell a specified large number of casters per year. It look- 
ed like a splendid thing for Martin but it was prophesied to be the ruination 
of Sohn and Rentchler and Tucker and Dorsey. But the prophecy was not 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 297 

fulfilled. The caster business was started and George Helvey was employed 
as Superintendent He built a complete line of labor saving machinery for 
making these castors nicely and as cheaply as possible. But the casters did 
not pretend to be cheap casters. They were essentially high priced. But 
the trade was pushed directly to the teeth of the hardware dealers and the 
hardware trade became finally convinced that this caster had come to stay 
and that it had its place in the market. The sales were pushed to an enor- 
mous extent, and they continued to grow ever since and the business has 
made magnificent returns to everyone connected with it. Mr. Martin died 
soon after the thing got fairly started but his royalty paid all his debts and 
left his family a competence, and the manufacturers have done exceedingly 
well. The firm of Sohn, Rentschler, Tucker & Dorsey was established and 
began making the casters in 1877 and about 1S84 the concern was incorpo- 
ated as the Phenix Caster Co. with the same owners. The factory is always 
running to its fullest extent and the two wheel casters, since copied largely, 
are now a staple article in the hardware market. 

5t7i^|ia/T)ilto9fluto(^rap}7ie l^<^<^ist(^r Co. 



I 



N the systematic retail store, the salesman writes a bill in duplicate, 
which bills go through certain retail processes of settlement with the 
customer before the delivery of the goods. The National Autographic Reg- 
ister is a contrivance designed to improve upon this method. It contains 
several rolls of paper, and when the salesman writes the bill, upon a part of 
the paper exposed in the machine, several copies are produced, one of which 
may go to the customer, and one to the cashier, but another copy is retained 
on an endless roll wound up in the machine, which is locked up so the sales- 
man cannot get it. A true autographic record is thus kept of each transac- 
tion and the record cannot be tampered with by unauthorized persons. This 
register is controlled by the National Autographic Register Co. of New York, 
and, in 1887, the Hamilton Autographic Register Co. was incorporated to 
work the register in certain Western territory, the registers being leased to 
the users. The officers of the company are Chris Benninghofen, President; 
Peter Benninghofen, Secretary ; George Hughes, Treasurer, and Jacob Rost, 
Manager. The registers are procured from the New York Co. and leased to 
merchants and other business men requiring their use, the Hamilton com- 
pany, in its territory, having canvassers employed to introduce the device 
and look after its operations, and sell the supplies needed for its use. Places 
have been found for thousands of these registers and their use calls for a 
great deal of roll paper properly printed and consecutively numberel and the 
Hamilton company, in its factory on Third Street near Black Street, is thor- 
oughly equipped for supplying this paper, which calls for a class of printing 
not within the capacity of usual printing offices. The paper is purchis-d in 
long rolls and is slitted into narrow widths and is printed bv continuous pro- 
cesses, each bill of the series receiving a consecutive number, and the com- 
pleted paper is delivered in rolls ready for use in the autographic register. 
The company also supplies cash-carriers and parcel-carriers, the product 
thus comprehending a complete system of store-service apparatus. 



298 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

THE LOUIS SNYDER SONS COMPANY, 

Papep Manufaetupeps. 




OUIS SNYDER was a Bavarian paper-maker. He came to the United 
States without money and began the manufacture of paper in 
hand molds in Brookville, Indiana. He finally got into the general merchan- 
dizing business in Milford, Indian?. 

In 1854 he built the Franklin Paper Mill at Hamilton, putting in a 
seventy-two inch machine and making book and newspaper. 

In 1868 he built an additional mill, the Fairgrove Mill on the Canal at 
the city limits. This mill made newspaper, having a seventy-two inch 
machine. In this year he took in his sons, Henry and Louis P. and Edward 
J. and also Mr. William Pfau, and the firm name became Louis Snyders 
Sons. In 1875 Louis Snyder died and the other partners bought his interest 
of the estate and the firm name remained unchanged. In 1880 the firm 
built the third mill, the Fordham Mill at Second and Mill Streets. This 
mill was for making book and newspaper, and its ninety inch machine was 
then the widest machine in this valley. 

In 1886 the Franklin Mill was entirely remodeled and a new machine 
ninety-two inches wide was put in. The mill when remodeled produced four 
times as much paper on the ninety-two inch machine as had been made be- 
fore on the seventy-two inch machine. 

In 1887 the business was incorporated as "The Louis Snyders Sons Co." 
with a capital of four hundred thousand dollars, with Henry Snyder as Presi- 
dent and Treasurer and Edward J. Snyder Secretary. 

In 1891 the construction of the "fourth" mill was begun at Second and 
Mill Streets. This mill has not yet been christened but "Fourth" will prob. 
ably be its name. The new mill is for the production of sulphite of wood 
fiber. The'daily capacity of the three mills is fifteen tons of paper and the 
capacity'of the fourth mill seven tons of pulp. The product of these mills is 
marketed throughout the sections buying Western paper. 

This concern has been the pioneer to the point of revolution in certain 
grades of paper manufacture. To make paper of old paper which had been 
printed upon was long a problem in the trade and the problem seemed im- 
possible of solution, old printed paper being looked upon as one of the waste 
products of the world. But the problem was solved by the chemical research 
and earnest experiments conducted in these mills. A small percentage of 
printed paper was successfully dealt with and finally the end was reached 
and one hundred per cent of this stock was successfully employed in making 
white paper. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OP HAMILTON, O. 199 

THE 80HNGEN MALTING GOPMY. 

JN 1859 Louis Sohngen started in the malting business, building a 
small malt house on the corner of C and Franklin Streets. The 
house had a capacity of ten thousand bushels. The new house was built 
and the capacity enlarged. In 1868 it was increased to sixty thousand 
bushels, in 1872 to eighty thousand bushels, and in 1875 to two 
hundred thousand bushels. In 1878 Louis Sohngen was succeeded by 
Charles Sohngen & Company, the firm being composed of Charles Sohngen 
and George P. Sohngen. In 189 1 the business was incorporated with a 
capital of one hundred thousand dollars. Charles Sohngen is President, 
George P. Sohngen Secretary and Treasurer, and Edward Sohngen has an 
interest. 

The product of this establishment is sold throughout all portions of the 
country buying malt from this district. This concern also markets the 
product of the Hamilton Malting Company. 

SCHLOSSKR & CO. 

MALTSTERS. 



QTe: 



ENRY SCHLOSSER came to this country in about 1849 and landed 
^ ^ in Cincinnati with an empty pocket. He walked to Burlington, in 
Hamilton County, and went to work on a farm, and soon after he went into 
Roger's mill in Burlington and learned the miller's trade, and he finally 
drifted to Hamilton where he became head miller in the Bridge Mill. 

In 1S70, when Henry Schlosser was working in the High Street mill, 
there was a small malt house at the corner of Fourth and High Streets, and 
Henry and his brother, Jacob, bought that institution and began malting 
with a capacity of about thirty thousand bushels. In 1874 Jacob Schlosser 
retired and in 1878 important improvements were made in the malt house 
bringing its capacity up to one hundred thousand bushels. In 1891 still 
more important improvements were made, increasing the capacity to two 
hundred and twenty thousand bushels and the house was equipped with new 
machinery, and an elevator was built with a capacity of about one hundred 
thousand bushels. The trade is in the East, South and West. The busi. 
ness is conducted by Mr. Henry Schlosser and his son, William Schlosser, 
both giving constant attention to the business. Mr. Henry Schlosser travels 
after the Northern trade and Mr. William Schlosser after the Southern and 
Eastern trade. 



300 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

G^^STINNER DOl^REY, cfe CO. 

MR. GvviNNER had been for three years Superintendent of the Phenix 
Caster Co., and in 1887 he patented the Gwinner common -sense 
caster and during that year the firm of Gwinner, Dowery & Co. was formed, 
composed of h. Gwinner, T. Dowrey and W. R. Eiber, to manufacture these 
casters. Shop room was rented of P. Burns on Water Street, between Mar- 
ket and Dayton. In 1890 Mr. Gwinner patented the common-sense stove 
truck used by stove dealers to hold sample stoves, and in 1891 he patented 
the Hercules caster. A full line of the casters is manufactured, adapted for 
all purposes for which furniture casters are used, and they have met with a 
very flattering reception by the trade and the business is constantly growing. 
The stove trucks have been especially well received and difficulty has been 
found in keeping up with the orders for them. Mr. Gwinner gives personal 
attention to the business. 

/^fJDEi^50|Ni a^d 5|^/^FFER. 

Xn 1854 the firm of Tanquary & Anderson built a mill at Second and Mill 
Streets, operated by water power. Tanquary was a miller and gave personal 
attention to the mill. It had a capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels 

per day. 

In 1864 this mill burned, with a loss of thirty-one thousand dollars. 
About i860 Corwin & Falconer had built a mill at Water and Dayton 
Streets and later L D. Campbell had bought it. On the morning of Tan- 
quary & Anderson's fire, the firm arranged for the renting of Campbell's 
mill which was then called the Minnehaha Mill. It was rented and run six 
months by Tanquary & Anderson and was then purchased by them. But it 
had so run down and the water power was in such bad shape that the ca- 
pacity was little more than thirty barrels per day. The Hamilton & Ross- 
ville Hydraulic Company was paid sixty five hundred dollars for the privi- 
lege of putting in an overshoot wheel to spill into the river and the mill was 
otherwise improved and the capacity brought up to about one hundred and 
fifty barrels per day. The name of the mill was changed to The Hamilton 
Mill. 

About 1 866 William Shaffer bought out Mr. Tanquary and the firm be- 
came William Anderson & Co. About 1880 George K. Shaffer bought out 
William Shaff"er and the firm became Anderson & Shaffer. About 1882 the 
mill was entirely remodeled, everything being torn out and new and im- 
proved machinery substituted on the modern roller mill plan, and the ca- 
pacity of the mill was brought up to three hundred barrels on which it is 
now running full. The output of this mill is shipped principally to the 
South. 



T&E CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 



SOI 



SEmiiEH and CO. 

EAGLE MILLS. 







JN 1875 John and C. M. Semler, under the name of Semler & Co., 
built the Semler Mill on North B Street. The mill was run by 
water power and had a capacity of seveuty-five barrels per day. 

lu 1884 the mill was burned and was a total loss. 

In the same year, 1884, the mill was rebuilt upon strictly modern prin- 
ciples, and was operated by steam with a capacity of one hundred barrels 
per day. In 1890 the mill was further remodeled and its capacity increased 
to two'hundred barrels per day. 

The flour made by this mill is sold mostly in the East and in Europe, 
where the well known "May Flower" brand is in high repute. 

Both of the owners give personal attention to the business. 



302 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 

THE HAMILTON TILE WORKS CO 

ARTISTIC HEARTH and FACING TILES. 



M 



R. ADOLPH METZNER, a druggist in Indianapolis, was also a 
talented artist and had for many years been an enthusiastic amateur in pot- 
tery and tile making. In his back yard he had quite an institution in the 
way of a pottery, with a fair sized kiln and he kept a potter or two at work. 
He made a little of everything that was handsome and interesting, but never 
to sell. He made the things because he liked it, and he and his friends used 
them. . He probably made the first floor tiles made in this country as there 
were then no tile works in the United States. 

He finally thought that tile making would not be a bad sort of a busi- 
ness and he began looking around for a location. Martin Mason, and the 
Reutti's of Hamilton were relatives of his and informed him that the pottery 
belonging to the Royal Pottery Co. in Hamilton could probably be gotten. 
Metzner took into partnership with him Mr. Halt, of Indianapolis, and under 
the name of Metzner, Hatt & Co. they bought the Royal Pottery in Hamilton, 
Only the real estate and kiln was available for tile work. 

They started to making tiles, or tried to, but had no luck either in mak- 
king good tiles or in finding a market. Hatt retired and was succeeded by 
J. Iv. Bieler of Indianapolis, not an experienced tile man, and the firm name 
was changed to Metzner & Bieler. The concern had the same hard old luck 
and they soon employed Robert Minton Taylor, a practical tile man, fO 
manage the institution and it was incorporated as the Robert Minton Taylor 
Ceramic Co.. Taylor however having no interest in the business. Affairs 
began to be still worse if possible and Taylor left. Metzner and his son 
Otto still pegged away trying to make tiles. There was no money to work 
with and things looked blue indeed. The tile'making was a constant series 
of hard experiments and the Metzner's stood by it nobly. They would work 
away and get out a batch of tiles and get them in the kiln and would then 
skirmish around and scare up money enough to buy a load ot coal and fire 
up the kiln and then with anxious hearts they would watch around that 
kiln hoping for respectable results. When the kiln was opened out would 
come another failure. And this thing repeated itself time and again. A 
less hopeful man than Metzner would have quickly given it up. But he 
worked along with his two sons. Otto and Max, and finally success crowned 
their persistent efforts and they produced enameled tiles the like of which 
had not been seen in this country, a splendid clay body, handsome designs, 
a magnificent glaze, and the true and long sought lor beauty of color. They 
now had the tile but they had absolutely no money and no office or busi- 
ness help. The tiles would probably sell on sight if put betore the trade but 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 303 

there was not money enough to buy even a railroad ticket to Cincinnati 
But the tide seemed to have turned and they managed to live. 

Dr. Wild, of Chicago, was an old army comrade of Metzner's and he 
bought out Mr. Beiler. Mr. Julius Bunsen of Cincinnati, a nephew of the 
celebrated Professor Carl Bunsen, of Heidelburg University, the inventor ot 
the celebrated Bunsen flame, was much taken with the work ol the Metzner's. 
He saw artistic merit in it, and further than that, he saw commercial merit 
in it. He joined in the business and in 1884, on petition to the Court, the 
name of the establishmert was changed to the Hamilton Tile Works Co. Mr. 
Wild became President, Mr. Metzner Vice President, Mr. Bunsen Secretary 
and Treasurer, Mr. Otto Metzner Superintendent. 

The market for the new goods had not yet been opened and the concern 
saw some hard times, but the haven had been really reached and the ship 
finally sailed grandly in. Business went up and up until nothing remained 
to be desired and now the magnificent tiles of this establishment are the 
standard in the trade. Orders are unlimited, most .always in excess of the 
capacity of the factory, and the highest market prices are received, for this 
concern makes no low grade goods. The tiles are sold from ocean to ocean 
and are chosen by the most critical buyers. It would be impossible with any 
kind of a picture which could be here produced to exhibit the beauty of 
these artistic tiles. The modeled designs and the range of colors is con- 
stantly fresh, and a view of the work of the Metzner's is always a delight to 
the artist. The special merit found in the tiles made by this establishment 
consists in the richness of color, great range of colors, originality and beauty 
of modeling, superior freedom from craze of surface, and that perfection of 
body mixture of clays which gives extreme hardness. 

KRAUTH & BENNINGHOFEN. 

MANUFACTURERS OF LIGHT MACHINERY. 

/^LBERT KRAUTH was a workman in the Niles Works and possessed 
a high order of mechanical skill and, in addition to that, he possessed the 
talents of the ingenious constructor. About 1883 he and Chris. Benning- 
hofen formed a partnership under the mame of Krauth & Benninghofen and 
rented shop room at Fourth and Market Streets and began the manufacture 
of portable music stands, mechanical contrivances tor the use of musicians, 
and adapted to fold up into small compass when not in use. Mr. Benning- 
hofen gave no attention to the mechanical parts of the business which was 
left entirely in the hands of Krauth. 



S04 THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSAEY OF HAMILTON, O. 

About 1886 the new shop was built on Third Street, near Black Street, 
and it was thoroughly equipped with machinery and tools adapted for the 
manufacture of various small machines and mechanical contrivances, the 
intention being to do such work on contract where business concerns deemed 
it better policy to have their goods made than to start their own factories. 
A complete nickle-plating outfit was also put in. About this time the 
National Autographic Register was being largely introduced throughout the 
country and the machines were being manufactured in New York. The 
firm of Krauth & Benninghofen took the machine in hand and greatly im- 
proved its details of construction, and its methods of manufacture, and ulti- 
mately became the sole manufacturers for the United States of these ma- 
chines. They do not market the machines, but simply manufacture them 
for the New York Company. In addition to the autographic registers the 
firm also makes cash-carriers and parcel-carriers for the New York Com- 
pany. The shop is managed by Mr. Krauth who gives it his entire attention- 

FRANK SCHANTZ. 

y R. FRANK SCHANTZ, quite a young man, was teaching school near 
w \,^_^ Woodsdale and his home was on his father's farm. A neighbor- 
ing farmer had lately gotten a machine to shell corn in the husk and the 
husks were thrown away. Young Mr. Schantz, in nosing around Cincin- 
nati, ascertained that corn husks had quite a market value as a material for 
matresses. He thereupon began, in a small way, to speculate in husks. He 
finally determined that he might as well make the matresses and sell them 
as to sell the husks and let some one else make that profit. So he started a 
small mattress factory in Hamilton. He felt his way very cautiously, buying 
a couple of bolts of ticking at a time and making two matresses a day. Every- 
thing worked out nicely and in 1888 he built a large two story brick factory 
on the corner of Seventh and Walnut streets and equipped it with all the 
latest machinery and he went into the mattress business in earnest, and has 
kept at it and the results are everything that he could desire. He now 
makes over one hundred and fifty mattresses per day, some of husks and 
others of excelsior, mixed fiber, and cotton. In addition he makes the tor- 
sion braided wire mattresses. These mattresses have special merits. In the 
opinion of many they are better than the best hair, being more comfortable, 
more cleanl}', more easily handled, and harder to wear out. Hotels and 
hospitals use them to a great extent and they are highly commanded for 
their hygenic qualities. To test their strength they have been pressed flat 
by machinery sixty thousand times in quick succession, which is equivalent 
to hard use for twenty or thirty years, without the slightest apparent change. 



THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON, O. 305 

J. JACOB BRONNERT. 

TURNED VVOOD WORK. 



M 



R. BRONNERT was a skilled and ingenions wood-turner from 
France, and in 1S71 he established in Cincinnati the business of general 
wood-turning for the trade. 

In 1 89 1 he moved his business to Hamilton, building a new factory on 
Safe Avenue, South of lyincoln Avenue, where he occupies an acre of land- 
The factory is of brick and well adapted for the work. 

The articles produced includes balusters, newels, cabinet spindles, fur- 
niture-stretchers, ornamental work, and turned articles generally as called 
for by the furniture and building trades. 

Such matters as this show to what extremes specialties in manufacture 
have been carried. A large furniture factory may be well equipped with 
turning lathes and may have men skilled in their operation, but still it is 
found good policy to buy turned work from establishments devoted exclus- 
ively to its production, the result of the policy being that finer work is 
secured and at lower prices. 




THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 307 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

G\ great many letters were received in response to invitations to attend 
<^^ the Centennial celebration most of which were not intended for pub- 
lication. Among the number the following have been selected for place 
in the Souvenir : 

The following pleasant reminder of Hamilton as it was "in the fifties," 
written by Laura B. Palmer, will be read with interest by all whose mem- 
ory goes back to those days. Those who have no such recollections will 
be repaid for its perusal as much by the vividness and truth of the pic- 
ture as by the grace and feeling with which the writer touches the can- 
vas of memory. — Eu. 

Letter of Laura B. Palmer. 

Si'. Louis, Mo., September 5, 1891. 
To Thomas Millikin, Esq., Dr. Cyrus Falconer, and others, of the Historical and 

Literary Coin/nitfce : 

Gentlemen : The regret of my inability to attend the Centennial cel- 
ebration, is magnified by the knowledge, that an invitation to attend the 
next one, will not be extended to me.' 

But, "howsoever these things be," I never propose to forget that the 
beautiful city of Hamilton was my home from infancy to a riper age; or 
to suppress the sweet memories of that long ago period; and I rejoice to- 
day, that the recollections associated with it are as vivid now as when, 
a little child, I sat in wonder and rapture, for the first time, on the 
banks of the river, and looked on the clear, swift stream, and out on the 
city of that day. I can now readily recall the new, strange and novel 
emotions, with which I looked upon the Great Miami, singing on its way 
to the sea; the wonderful water-way that stretched up to Basin street; the 
old bridge; the hydraulic; the mills; the railway; the green slopes, and 
miles of corn and grain, out to the east, and south, and west and north ; 
and the orchards and forests that stretched away beyond the town, on 
every side. 

The pictures and impressions of that day press upon me for recogni- 
tion. Thev are novel, and many, and picturescjue. To some, they may 




DR. CYRUS FALCONER. 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 309 

appear commonplace, to me, they are all of absorbing interest, bristling 
with unforgotten memories. 

I cannot conceive how the memory of that arm of water that ex- 
tended up from the main stem of the great canal into the town, could 
ever be effaced, or how I could forget the amazement I experienced, 
when I looked for the first time upon the floating barges, bearing merchan- 
dise to and fro on its bosom. In my eyes as I now recall the memory, 
trade, at the head of the basin, exceeded in volume all commerce on the 
piers of New York, on the quays of Venice, or the water-front of Liv- 
erpool. But they tell me it is no more, and that o'er its bed the busy 
multitude surges to and fro. 

And the old wooden bridge is gone, and with it many a pleasant 
reminiscence. Far be it from )}ie to stay the hand of Progress; for you 
who have, for so many years, viewed its weather stained sides, and tra- 
versed its dust covered floors, I can conceive how, with feelings of pride, 
you saw the old structure replaced by the new. But ah ! quite sadly do 
/ lament its going. 

Oft has memory recalled the dear old town, and dwelt long and lo\ - 
ingly ■ o'er the picture, and ever in the panoramic view was the wooden 
bridge. On one side of its entrance, the toll-gate keeper sitting astride a 
chair, resting his head upon its back; on the other, the old mill, with 
its busy wheel ever dashing the pacific waters of the Great Miami into 
angry, turbulent waves, that in my mind rivaled in grandeur the great 
Niagara Falls. 

Surely lovers sigh, as they recall the (juiet walks within its walls, se- 
cure from the eyes and ears of the multitude ; and the laborer, as he 
thinks of its kindly shelter from the ruder elements without. I had 
thought sometime in the future I would again stroll through its familiar 
aisles, and listen to the measured tread of horses' feet, as their own- 
ers, obeying the injunction of the ordinance, guided them slowly through, 
and, for the once, be a child again, hurrying with a band of light- 
hearted girls over to school; for hark! the mellow tones of the dear old 
town clock, even now, strike the hour. ^^ -'= =i= -i- 

But, on the wings of Time, come to me tales that the old Court 
House, too, is gone; and that hushed is the tongue of the dear old bell, 
whose musical cadences for years so faithfully proclaimed the hour. The 
old Court House, so big with events of historic interest; so big with mem- 



3IO THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 

ories of forensic triumphs; the witness of human victories and defeats. 
Who does not recall the old chamber, where gifted minds met in peaceful 
encounters and won victories more renowned than those of war? (lone — 
and a new edilice has arisen from the ashes of the old ; but is it in the 
emerald setting that surrounded the old structure, and do the honeysuckles 
and sweet syringas still send forth rich aromas from their shady corners 
into the dusty streets ? =•= * -'^ ='^ 

Yes ; one by one the old landmarks that identified the past with the 
present, are drifting away. Even the old fort is gone; nor has decay's 
effacing fingers left scarce a trace behind. 

What a transformation from the old to the new; from the simplicity 
of the past to the splendors of the present 1 Wonderful, indeed, has been 
the material progress; a marvelous stride in the arts; in wealth; in intel- 
ligence; in fact, in a// that gives dignity, and fame, and honor to a city. 

When this city first claimed my childish admiration, about three thous- 
and slept within its gates; to-day, they are twenty thousand strong. Then, 
the landscape eastward was flecked with fields of waving corn ; and the 
golden-rod, and flowering shrubs bordered the dusty roadside, where little 
huts, rude and primitive in architecture, were stretched in straggling aban- 
don, even to the gates of the mushroom suburl) of Deb bysvil le. 

In those early days — not so long ago either — 1 saw flocks of (luail on 
P'ourth street, and witnessed, with pitying eye, the frightened hare fleeing 
before a pack of dogs and wild urchins in full chase. Long before this 
the l)ear and deer had abandoned the hills and sunny slopes, and sought 
refuge in deeper forests, as civilization pressed onward toward the set- 
ting sun. 

Some among you, recollect how the waters of the river were seduced 
into a vast hydraulic, and enticed into sluices and chutes; and how the 
tamed element was utilized to set thousands of jiulleys revolving, hammers 
beating, and " wheels going round." And / remember how, in later years, 
I viewed with childish wonder these innovations, and joined with my el- 
ders in the boast that our rapidly growing city was distancing all others, 
in its race for sui)remacy. 

The jesthetical was not then as now a leading factor in the city's pro- 
gress. Those busy people had no time to hear metaphysical disquisitions, 
to fly l)alloons, or to play crocjuet. The boat, and i)low, and contrivance 
for saving labor, were articles of real, ijractical utility ; and it was deemed 



'I'HK CENTENNIAL CELERRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 3II 

profitable to let genius and mechanical talent spend their energies in this 
direction, for there were "millions in it." This, to the empirical reason- 
ing of that epoch, was as plain as a pike-staff; but to chip statues from 
blocks of marble, write epics or pastorals, or be rapturous over polemical 
chaff, was not in accordance with backwoods notions; it was not their 
style. They had no Boston jubilees, nor musical soirees; nor did they 
think it requisite to have an organ accompaniment to the yell of an In- 
dian warrior, or a piano solo to a country corn-shucking. They erected 
a cabin in a day, without the flourish of a speech, or putting copper 
coins in a corner stone; and if a church was to be built, they did not 
improvise a lottery to raise funds, or an oration to move men to con- 
tribute, or a poem to be read, or a lyric sung, to "raise the wind." 

But, in time, true culture began, and grew apace, so that the cen- 
sors and Eastern Magi looked in blank amazement, and marveled at the 
rich promise of these children of the West. 

Nature, too, was generous in her gifts, and they were scattered, thick 
as leaves, on every side of this enchanted ground. Sycamore Grove was 
then a somewhat tangled paradise, a beautiful shade, where the nymphs 
and fairies must have carnivaled long before the white man rudely broke 
the spell of privacy, or before the Indian made his debut upon the scene. 
Who knows what weird figures floated in the shades of this Arcadian 
grove, or what types of dark-hued maidens kept time, with flying feet, 
to the music of the rude cymbal and castanet? One can readily conceive 
how the red man, in the days long gone, wooed his dusky mate in the 
soft light of noon-day, and the speech of Indian brave fired the hearts of 
his followers, in the light of the dying camp fire. 

What child did not then know that Sycamore Grove was the home 
of elves and fairies, and the trysting ground of the gentle and the brave, 
in times long gone? And Delorac's Island! Why, what Hamiltonian has 
forgotten the romance and mystery that hovered o'er that spot; the whis- 
pers that filled the air at twilight, and the echoes that drifted, like in- 
cense on the summer air? 

" Willows whiten, aspens quiver. 
Little breezes dusk and shiver 
Thro' the wave that runs forever 
15v the island in the river." 




JOHN W. SOHN. 



THK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 313 

Connected with its history, I listened in childish awe, to tales as wild 
as Robinson Crusoe's sojourn on the island in the sea. 

And so, the pen never wearies with recitals of romance, and remin- 
iscence, flung around the home where childhood's hai)py days ran on, 
and on. 

The old, it is true, has been replaced by the new. Beautiful edi- 
fices have arisen like exhalations, and the dawn of a new life, and a 
greater prosperity is apparent to all ; but the outlines of the old are there ; 
the hills on the east and west are there; it is the same, in a new garb, 
with the sun shining as of old ; with the spring rains and dews refresh- 
ing the land. The old fort, too, is there, in the memory of many, with 
its stockades and gallant defenders, looking out on the river, the beauti- 
ful river, that laves the feet of the city, and sings, in an unknown 
tongue, on its journey to the sea. 

The hills, and dells, and groves away off from the river, are now 
drifting before my eyes — a panorama of beauty. Fields of corn, and the 
trophies of the husbandmen lying beyond the suburbs, tell of affluence and 
the gifts of peace ; while busy hands and brains, within the gates, evi- 
dence thrift, industry, wealth and wisdom. I see, too, the river; the site 
of the old fort; the goodly city; the orchards and barns in the distance; 
the sun shining upon the windows and housetops, painting the landscape 
with a saffron hue. I hear the roar of a thousand hammers, and the 
whirl of many thousand spindles; the noise of the mills; the rumbling 
wheels, that bear away the handiwork of the busy toiler and artizan. 

I see it, and hear it, as I did when last I drifted by the dear old 
city at sunset ; the city 

With the glinting sunbeams on its steeples. 

Its windows robed in flaming red, 
The clouds above it, fringed with silver, 

The groves with tints of gold o'erspread. 

Very respectfully, 

Laura B. Palmer. 



314 'J'HK CKNTKNNIAL CF.LP:BRATI0N OF HAMILTON, O. 

The following communication from Mrs. Mary Ann Keck, for many 
years a resident of Hjimilton, contains ;in authentic account ot the death 
and burial of General Arthur St. Clair: 

Letter of Mrs. Mary Ann Keck. 

V 

Kentland, Ind., September 7th, 1891. 
Israel W'ilUaiiis and o/hris. Centennial Coniniitfee, Hamilton, Ohio: 

Dear Sirs : 1 thank your committee for the kind invitation to be pres- 
ent .at the Centennial Celebration, of the location of Fort Hamilton and 
the first settlement of your city, of which I was so many years a resident. 

I shall be i)resent at the celebration, but cannot promise much active 
participation in the exercises, as I am now in the 88th year of my age. 
I very well remember in my girlhood days to have seen Cen. St. Clair 
at my grandfather, Thomas Fisher's, hotel in Westmoreland county, Penn- 
sylvania. The circumstances that particularly impress my recollection were 
these : That great attention and deference were paid to the old General, 
and the fact that 1 found one of the glasses he lost out of his spectacles, 
and that I found it and gave it to him and received his generous and most 
sincere thanks. At that time he wore a cue tied with a black ribbon. When 
his death occurred I was living in Crreensburg. 1 was married June 20th, 
and in August of the same year Cien. St. Clair died. They buried his re- 
mains in the Presbyterian Cemetery not far from Greensburg. I under- 
stood that he was a mason. A band accompanied the remains to the 
cemetery, and my husband, who was a mason and a member of the band 
was present. The General died at his daughter's, Mrs. Robb, who lived 
on Chestnut Ridge, and as that was an out of the way place the funeral 
was small. No services were held in the church, but the procession moved 
directly from the house to the cemetery. The toll-gate near (rreensburg 
was draped for the occasion with black muslin. The masons erected a 
monument over his grave and placed a suitable inscription on it. I might 
say much more, but as I suppose you desire brevity, 1 close by again 
thanking you for your kind invitation, and subscribe myself 

\^ery truly yours, 

Mary Ann Keck. 



THE CENTENNIAL CEEEHRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 315 

The following agreeable expression of patriotic loyalty to his place 
of nativity is from the pen of Chief Justice Elliott, of the Indiana Su- 
preme Court, who was born in the city of Hamilton : 

Letter of Judge Byron K. Elliott. 

Indianapolis, Aug. 24th, 1891. 

Hon. Tliomas Millikin, Dr. Cyrus Falconer, Rev. E. W. Abbey, James I!'. 
See, Esq., Israel Williams, Esq., Committee: 

Gentlemen : I am profoundly grateful to you, and those you repre- 
sent, for your cordial invitation to unite with you in celebrating " Hamil- 
ton's Centennial." It has given me a deeper and truer pleasure than words 
can express to know that I am not altogether forgotton in my dear old 
home. In my boyhood I was proud to be known as a " Hamilton Boy" 
and that pride has not died with manhood's years. It would give me 
heartfelt pleasure to meet my schoolmates and my early friends, and it is 
only stern and unrelenting duty that impels me to deny myself that pleas- 
ure. It is with the keenest and bitterest regret that I yield to the impe- 
rious demands of duty, and decline your invitation. 

"Hamilton Boys" in the history of a century have been conspicuous 
actors, for they have won fame in war, in the literary world, in political 
affairs, and in the world of law, medicine and mechanics. One who writes 
the biographies of "Hamilton Boys" will have no lack of material nor 
will he write of men known only to a locality, for many of them are 
known to the nation, and some are known on the other side of the 
Atlantic. 

It grieves me sorely that I cannot join with you in celebrating the 
hundredth anniversary of my l)irthplace. 

Very truly yours, 

Byron K. Elliott. 



The following letter is from the pen of a colored gentleman who for 
many years resided as a much respected citizen in the city of Hamilton. 
Although born in the domain of slavery, by studious industry he acquired 
a liberal knowledge, especially of politics and history. His c|ualification 
was many years ago recognized by appointment to an important office in 
the government service at Washington, D. C, where he yet remains: 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OK HAMILTON, O. 317 

Letter of Alfred J. Anderson. 

No. 1922, nth St., N. W., ) 
Washincton, 1). C, Sept. 9th, '91. )' 

To Bon. Thos. Millikin, Dr. Cyrus Falconer, Rev. E. 1 1'. Abbey, J'rof. 
J. W. See and Hon. Israel Williams, Committee: 

Gentlemen : I feel greatly honored by your kind invitation to be pres- 
ent and take part with you in celebrating the coming Centennial of the 
settlement of Hamilton. It would be particularly interesting for me to do 
so especially as my own personal recollections are associated with its his- 
tory and growth for over a half century, beginning at a time when most 
of the participating pioneers were young and the streets of the village 
green with grass. 

In those sleepy old days no one ever dreamed of the spirit of the 
age that has since awoke into activity the new life and latent forces which 
are making Hamilton the Birmingham of the great Northwest. I regret 
to have to add that the state of my health will most likely prevent my 
attendance. 

With many thanks, I am with great respect, &c., 

Alfred J. Anderson. 



Rev. J. G. Monfort, for many years a resident and minister in Ham- 
ilton has briefly added his recollection of the ])ioneer days of the ])eople 
of Hamilton in the following communication: 

Letter of Rev. J. G. Monfort. 

Cincinnati, Aug. 26, 1891. 
Thomas Millikin, Esq., Chairman Hamilton Centennial Commiitee : 

Dear Sir : I received with great pleasure your invitation, and I hope 
to be able to be present. I went with my father, Rev. Francis Monfort, /-^^ t-j 
to Hamilton 71 years ago, and lived there 20 years. I knew a large pro- 
portion of the early settlers who were living in 1820 al Hamilton, Ross- 
ville, Oxford, Millville, Venice, Black Bottom, Chester, Princeton, Monroe, 
Middletown, Trenton, Elk Creek, Four Mile, Seven Mile, Darrtown, Paddy's 
Run, Jacksonsburg, Riley, &c. Nothing could give me more pleasure, now 
in my Sist year, than to meet friends I knew from 50 to 71 years ago. 



3l8 THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION (W HAMILTCW, O. 

I am invited to attend the inauguration of the President of Miami Uni- 
versity the same week, and I hope to compound the two occasions. I 
am in good health and hope to be able to carry out my purpose, 
but in these davs of my jjhysical 77V i)icrtia, 1 sometimes foreordain things 
that do not come to pass. I have had you under my eye with pleasure 
since 1831, nearly 60 years ago, when I begin to teach you hie, /wac, hoc, 
though I have seldom seen you. 

Yours \ery truly, 

T. (i. MONFORT. 



.Vmong the eminent authors of America is numbered W. D. Howells, 
who in his boyhood days was a resident of Hamilton, and the scene of 
whose " Boy"s Town " was laid in this city. The following characteristic 
letter is from Mr. Howells in answer to a re(iuest to attend the Centen- 
nial Celebration : 

Letter of W. D. Howells. 

Intervale House, Intervale, N. H., ) 

Aug. 6, 1 89 1. ) 

My Dear Mr. MHlikiii : 

Your name was once very familiar to me, and I hope you are one 
of the boys whom I used to play with in Hamilton forty-odd years ago; 
for if you are I feel that I need not accuse you of any great regret that 
I cannot come to the Celebration of the town's Centennial. Any of the 
boys would know that I was sorry without being told. This is a doubly 
busy year with me, and I cannot even write a poem for the time, the 
good and great time, you are all going to have next month. 1 shall be 
with you in si)irit, and in proud affection for the old place, which was the 
home of my happiest years, and which I have never ceased to revisit in 
the dreams of long exile. 1 am told the ])lace is greatly changed; that 
it is a city, and all sorts of a centre : and 1 ought not to be surprised 
that it should have a Centennial. But the fact does come to me with a 
shock of astonishment, for I knew it when the log-cabins still basked in 
the deep cornfields about it. 1 have tried to tell elsewhere what an in- 
comparable town it was for a boy to be boy in ; and I shall ever think 
it the largest and most jjopulous place of 3,000 inhal)itants that ever was. 



THE CF.N'IHNNIAL CKLEHKATION OF HAMII/1'ON, (). 319 

Its present merits and glories your orators and poets will sing and say for 
you; but I cling fondly to its i)ast, and if I could trill a verse, it should 
be in praise of the Hamilton that flourished l>et\veen 1840 and 1850. At 
that period I am (juite sure there were men ten feet high in Hamilton ; 
there were boys who could whip those men, if they had a mind; the 
Justice on the Court House was so high above the earth that her head 
pressed the clouds; from the Big Reservoir to the Little Reservoir it was 
as far as it now is from the Big to the Little Dipper. Everything was on 
the grandest scale. The summer days were each a week long, and if a 
fellow was kept in after school his hair had a chance to turn gray be- 
tween four and five o'clock. The modern citizens of Hamilton can readily 
have an idea of the magnificence of the place in that fairy decade, but 
if you were a boy there then, you can remember it. I can ; and now that 
I come to think of it, I only wonder that it is not your town's millen- 
nial you are going to celebrate. For me, Hamilton was before Rome was ; 
and to tell you the truth, when I came to see it I found no comparison 
between the Tiber and the Miami except that they weie both liable to 
freshets. Yours sincerely, 

W. D. How ELLS. 



Mr. (Jeorge L. Andrew, a prominent citizen of Laporte, Lidiana, is 
another native of Hamilton who retains a patriotic interest in the city's 
welfare, as shown in the following reminiscent communication : 

Letter of Qeorge L. Andrew. 

La Porte, Ind. , Oct. 9, 1891. 
Thos. Millikin, Esq., C/iairniaii, Etc.: 

Dear Sir: I thank you for the recjuest of the Historical Committee 
to write something appropriate to the recent celebration of the Centennial 
of the erection of Fort Hamilton. I wish I could adeijuately express the 
throng of thoughts and memories that crowd uj^on me, but that cannot be. 

The celebration was a fitting "rounding u])" of Hamilton's first hun- 
dred years. It tvas my good fortune to be born just across the river from 
the old fort when the town was a little more than thirty years old, and 
the first 23 years of my life were spent there and in Oxford. It was 
then my fate to become a citizen of another city and State, but my heart 



320 THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. 

has never ceased to turn to Hamilton as its home. And this I beheve 
is the experience of all whose youth was spent there. Its peculiar situa- 
tion, starting as two rival towns separated by a river and connected by a 
bridge, its varied feature of river, dam, tail-race, basin, canal with its far- 
off first lock and its Ultima 'Fhule the second lock, its old river now the 
Reservoir, its wooded hills and beauiiiul scenery ; all these and more, are 
they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the "Boy's Town," and 
what is better, in the hearts of thousands scattered over this wide world ? 
Then hail to the dear old town-r//r now, as she enters with "strength 
renewed as the eagle's," upon her second century! Thankful for her past, 
we look forward with hope and trust to the future that has in it yet 
greater things for her. (iod bless her! 

Yours very sincerely, 

Geo. L. .Andrew. 



'I'wo l)oys l)orn in the citv of Hamilton and educated at .Miami Univer- 
sity, u})on attaining manhood in the early fifties immigrated to the Pacific 
Coast and there attained eminence in literature, and now stand in the 
front rank as authors of important and valuable publications. The follow- 
ing interesting reminiscent letters are from their pens: 

Letter of John S. Hittell. 

1 216 Hyde Street, } 

San Francisco, Aug. 19, 189 1. \ 

A/fssrs. yyio/j/f/s Millikin, Dr. Cyrus Falconer, Rev. E. IF. Abbey, Jaiiws IT. 
See (1 /id Israel ]]'illiains. I [istorical and Literary Committee: 

Ckn tlemen : I regret my inability to attend the celebration of the 
Centennial anniversary of the settlement of the city of Hamilton. The 
occasion is worthy of commemoration, and 1 congratulate you on this demon- 
stration of your public spirit. .After thousands of years, it will he recounted 
to your credit. .After a hundred generations, your successors will read with 
interest what you are about to do, as you read what (ien. St. Clair did. 
Your city is a permanent possession of civilization. It will flourish till that 
improbable time when the globe changes its axis, or the Miami Valley 
disappears in some convulsion of nature. -So long as men take pride in 
their ancestry and love their country, so long — that is to say to the re- 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF HAMILTON, O. i^^ 

„„,es. ages_i, will be the duty and the pleasure of intelligent men to 
cherish their local history, as yot, are now doing. 

Your kind invitation, for which I thank you, revives nianv recollec 
.ions It suggests to me my boyhood and youth spent in your c„y my 
in„k. mv collegiate education in the neighboring 
attendance in your schools, my collegiate 
town of Oxford; my friendships with old residents, still dear to me, aid 

1 lohn Rilev Taylor Webster, James McBride. John 
my acquaintance with John Riley, la) _^^^ 

Woods, and other distinguished pioneers of Butler county. t 

,,„, ;,„e studying law in the office of John Woods, ^ -'^"'^f ^" 

,our city and frequently heard and saw Tom Corwin .here; .ha, I o len 

eard Jo'hn B. We.ler, Lewis D. Campbell and Wm. Behb in poh c 
speeches; and that 1 went to a mass meeting at Dayton in ,840 ,0 h ar 
G . H rrison and again in .84. to hear Henry Cay. These are note 
uames, but I doubt not that the proportion of able and learned men in 
nViin is as large now as it was then. 

your invitation suggests to me the beautiful Miam, Vahey, which in 
ferlility of soil is not surpassed by anything seen by me in long travels 
n hs continent and in Europe; and ,t also suggests those magnificen 
forests of white oak, hickory, ash and black wahuit, precious species of 
s found only on the eastern part of the United States, and nowhere 
ore luxuriant than in your vicinity. It reminds me of my frequent wa s 
.„ .he Mound Builders' ruins, so numerous and interesting in yo- con t^ 
,n the forty-three years that have ekapsed since I made my home ,n 
Ohio, I have revisited Hamilton wi.h pleasure, several times; and my m- 
teres; in Butler county has been kept ahve by meeting here som o 
native sons, who became residents of San Francisco. Among these we 
C;ov. John B. Weller and Gov. Wm. Irwin. Your county ■-'- ™ ° 
.bat has furnished two Governor's to California, and Char^ L. ^M1 - 
of whom have crossed over to the majority; and E. J. Baldwin a omi 
nent millionaire, and Dr. L. C. Lane, an eminent surgeon, who my 

intimate friend. • 

By becoming a pioneer of California in ,849 and a permanent les 
dent of San Francisco subsequently, my strongest local affections were xed 

connected with Ohio. I consider it fortunate for me that . spent my early 



322 THE CENTKNNIAI, CELEBKATION OF HA.MIl/l'ON, (). 

years in Hamilton, and I feel honored by my connection with you, even 
at a distance of more than two thousand miles, in your celebration. 

Yours truly, 

John S. Hitteli.. 



Letter of Theodore H. Hitteli. 

San Francisco, August 21, 1891. 
Afrssrs. Tluuiias Milliki/i, Dr. Cyrus Falconer and others, Historical and Literary 

Conunitiee : 

Gentlemen: I desire to express my thanks for your cordial invitation 
to be present at the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the 
building of Fort Hamilton. It would give me great pleasure to attend, but 
circumstances prevent. 

My recollections of Hamilton are very vivid and very pleasant. I'he 
old fort and the old military roads through the woods, which were trav- 
eled by .Arthur St. Clair and Anthony Wayne, were always objects of ex- 
ceeding interest to me ; and their history, together with the history of the 
aborigenes and of the old settlers, has always been and is still a favorite 
subject of contemplation and study. 

It was my destiny in 1855, after a life of twenty-three years in Ohio, 
to change my residence to California ; and I have ever since been and 
am now a Californian. But I do not forget that Hamilton and the Miami 
and its great and glorious valley are the only "scenes of my childhood" 
to which I can recur ; and I assure you that no one can prize them more 
highly, honor them more sincerely, or be more interested in their progress 
and prosperity than 

Your obliged friend and well-wisher. 

Theodore H. Hittell. 



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